This past week my team and I set out on a week long seed collecting expedition in southeast of Yosemite. We started in the Bristlecone National Forest to find a population of Lipidospartum, that will be used in genetics research. While we were so close to the Bristlecones, we ventured up into the ancient forest on search of Methuselah, the almost 5,000 year old tree.

Bristelcone

After the ancient trees, we headed up Tioga Pass to Yosemite and collected some riparian species in a beautiful yellow aspen patch. We then drove towards the tufa shores of Mono Lake on the search of some Chenopods and Artemisia.

Our third night we stayed in a rustic town with natural hot springs. In the evening we were lucky enough to relax under the starry sky in hot tubs fed by the mineral hot springs.