Mammoth Lakes, Late Summer

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Winter is upon us in Russell, the sky is grey and rain is on the horizon; Caroline and I are due to make a trip to the US on August 15. Unfortunately, there's a family emergency and I'm required to travel to the United Kingdom in early August. Of course, this requires re-routing tickets. I re-connect with Caroline on August 21 in Mammoth Lakes, California. All is not as simple as written, my flight from the UK includes an overnight stop in Phoenix, and when I finally do arrive in LA, I spend 8 hours dead-time in LA airport. I am phone-less and even though I try using courtesy hotel phones, I can't arrange a day room. My flight to Mammoth Lakes, scheduled for 4.00pm finally takes off at 5.15pm and I am met by Caroline at 6.15 along with old friends Siri and Armondo, who in turn were meeting a visitor. The weather is spectacular, warm and clear; it's good to be in the High Sierra's.

The High Sierra's is the backdrop to many of Clint Eastwood's western movies as well as classics like Gungha Din. A film festival scheduled for October, in Lone Pine, celebrates the film industry in the Owens Valley.

My old boss, arrives from Oregon for a weekend visit. Dick, made a trip to India with myself and Malcolm Sanders in 2010 and is due to join us on a Myanmar adventure in November, 2013. Bad news, he can't make the trip, but presents me with a Lonely Planet to Burma. On the Saturday, Caroline suggests an outing to Bodie. It's approximately 60 miles from Mammoth Lakes, and the last 13 miles are down a dusty bumpy dirt road. We arrive at the State Park. Bodie is a ghost town in a state of arrested decay; the structures will be maintained, but only to the extent that they will not be allowed to fall over or otherwise deteriorate in a major way. A quick history of Bodie: Gold is discovered in 1863 and by 1913 the gold is running out and mines are starting to close. The last mine finally closes in 1943. In it's heday, Bodie's inhabitants totaled 10,000 and includes, miners, gamblers, gunfighters, prostitutes, families and Chinese. Today, it's a ghost town, and Bodie is designated a State Park in 1962.

The weekend also has a free Rock' n Roll festival in Mammoth Village from 2.00pm to 10.00pm, after our Bodie visit, it's time to listen to some music and have a few beers.

One week on and Caroline's sisters, Margot and Marybeth arrive on Thursday, 29^th August for a three day visit. We have tickets to the Mammoth Lakes Bluegrass Festival on Saturday, 31^st, the headliners for the are the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band. It's the second annual Bluegrass festival and is a fun event, great bands, and it's not too crowded. Great bluegrass artists and if you are a follower, then it's one for the calendar.

Our friends, Siri and Armondo from LA are in town the same weekend and will be staying at their condominium for a week. It's time to catch-up for dinner. Tamarack Lodge, once one of our favorite restaurants is our destination and while the food was good, it no longer rates a spot in our top-ten restaurant list. Still, the company is wonderful and it's a fun night out!

Over the next few weeks, we spend time doing minor maintenance around our condominium, enjoying walks, drinking late's at the cafe in the outlet mall, retail therapy at the outlets and the occasional evening car-ride with Siri and Armondo, bear spotting. We also plan our road trip to Deadwood and Yellowstone..... Next blog.

To view our Condominium at Sierra Park Villas: http://www.sierraparkvillas.com/21162.html

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