I love driving California’s Highway 395, but sometimes I take slight detours. One is to go straight ahead when you get to the big turn in the road at Bishop. That is taking Highway 6 to Benton, and then turn left on to Highway 120. Most people know of 120 as Tioga pass the road to Yosemite. This is the seldom traveled section, but it has its treasures and surprises.
The first time I traveled this road was as a child with my family. We were driving a brand new 1966 Volkswagen bus blue and white, while pulling a trailer. If you are not familiar with this car, it was a box on wheels, with an only a 50 horsepower motor. They were slow unloaded; pulling a trailer was a challenge. It was a small teardrop trailer, but it slowed us down on hill climbs. We heard this route was not as steep. It’s not.
The things to discover along the way are plenty. First old Benton now known as the hot springs. The hot springs kept the old town from dying when most people moved to Benton Station were the Carson and Colorado Railroad pushed through. After the springs the road climbs to peaks of decomposed granite you come to a long stretch of mostly straight highway. It’s straight, but the dips and whoop to dos are crazy. You can get airborne on that piece of road.
The climbing gets steeper as the sage turns to pines. The ground turns to volcanic ash and the forest is now thicker. The trees are replacements for the years Bodie needed wood to shore the mines and build the town. Now you are descending into the ash flows that extend to the shores of Mono Lake. On the right there are the ruins of the Mono Mills the reason for the Bodie and Benton Railroad. Your view opens up to the dead sea of the West, Mono Lake. Lastly the road connects up to Highway 395 and you are on your way to Lee Vining. There are other things along the road, this is just a taste. 
Highway 120 Mono County California
© David “Bodie” Bailey