Lenticular clouds, created by circular winds, gather over Mono Lake

Sunset starts and the show begins...

The strange formations are Tufa - calcium carbonate structures formed before Southern California diverted water away from the lake

As the water level dropped, the Tufa were exposed

Dawn, the next morning - the clouds are gone and all is calm before the sun emerges

As the sun approaches the horizon, its red rays refract first and cast a glow to west

The sun break through

Half an hour after sunrise

The Mono Lake wildlife emerges (though if it holds still, maybe it won't be seen...)

Cliff swallows, nesting under the eves of the ranger's residence at Bodie

This tenacious parent demonstrates how to feed in a heavy wind with no footholds

The Yosemite high country - over 10,000 feet

Sand Tufa - strange formations with calcium carbonate caps formed by sepage when this area was submerged; the caps then protected the sand as the lake was drained; and the wind etched patters

A different Tufa sunset begins

Over ten minutes the colors change rapidly

And finally fade away