Blogs from Mammoth Lakes, California, United States, North America

Today we slept a little late and had breakfast. We were going to try to see the area but the big problem was the closure of the National Forests in California. Many of the sites in Mammoth Lake lie within the Inyo National Forest. Because of the closure there was no hunting, fishing, hiking, or site seeing allowed. Of all the lakes in the area there were only 2 we could visit. We spent the day fishing, which means Terry and Ed gushed and Karen and I waited for them and worked on our trip blogs and pictures. As usual Karen packed a picnic lunch which was always appreciated. We also toured the town and shopped for souvenirs. Here you must mask up before entering any business. Many places were closed or had reduced hours, like ... read more

Wow what a good day we've had today. Off nice and early in Ellie to climb up to Main Lodge, which is where the scenic gondola ride commenced. In summer this gondola ride takes many hikers and bikers to the top of Mammoth mountain at 11,000 feet. The bike trails leading down are graded, but they all looked pretty scary. All the bikers wore full protection gear many looking a little like Darth Vada. We were less ambitious and just walked around to the various viewing spots. From these there were lovely views off all the nearby mountains, some of which were still covered in snow. It was amazing to think that the previous day we had been below sea level and now we were 11,000ft above. Next it was off to Reds Meadow Valley the ... read more

Day 13 The second week of any holiday always goes so much faster than the first and this is no exception. The realisation we are going home in a few days has hit and the depression has already sunk in! We check out of the hotel and sit by the pool for a while before we make our way to our next hotel in Mammoth Lakes. Our holidays for basically the last 10 years have been road trip holidays and we never stay in the same place too long as we get bored! And as I am sitting relaxing at the pool for a few hours I realise why! I get bored very easily. The climate is nice and the pool is empty. I dangle my feet in the pool and enjoy my book before pestering ... read more

After a snatched breakfast in the motel we were on the road again and the temperature was rising rapidly to begin with. Our first stop was Mammoth Lakes, again as we got to the mountain area there was snow everywhere but this time whenever we left the car to take photos the air temperature was low as we had climbed to a high altitude, over 8000 feet so no surprise, the scenery was incredible though so we figured it was worth braving the cold to see! From Mammoth Lakes we travelled further North to Mono Lake, a strange lake with evidence of volcanic activity. The water was a bright turquoise blue with a black crater in the middle and strange pinnacles around the edge formed by spring water bubbling up creating calcium deposits. Thankfully here, despite ... read more

Upon waking we all had the same thought in our minds..."Lets go home"! After all we were just six hours and a familiar drive away from being home. We also longed to sleep in our beds at home. We figured we could leave by 5:00 and be home by midnight. But first we wanted to go to the "Kids Fishing Festival". It was free and the Department of Fish and Game had stocked two ponds with big ol' trout! So, off we went with the rest of Mammoth's visitors...hundreds of them! And their kids that have never fished before...all packed into two tiny ponds. Fortunately our kids have fished before and it was pretty easy for them to literally drop their bait in and reel in a fish. Once we returned to the campground, Jeff went ... read more