And so it ends…
Once again, my mind and my body are not on the same page. After enduring several days of increasing back pain, it became unbearable and I was having trouble walking or standing for more than a few minutes. Facing the reality that I would not be able to continue my itinerary, I made the difficult choice to change my plans and head home nearly two weeks early. While I’m really, really disappointed and frustrated, I am so grateful for the experiences I’ve had on this abbreviated trip and some of the amazing places that I’ve seen. And on the upside, I still have several weeks of my sabbatical in which I can enjoy the beautiful fall colors in upstate NY.
The last place I was able to visit before I surrendered to my deteriorating condition was Mono Lake, just outside of Yosemite. One of the features of Mono Lake are tufa tower formations. This type of limestone is created when calcium from underground spring water bonds with the carbonate in the lake water, forming calcium carbonate that builds on itself over time, creating otherworldly tufa towers.
