Shaun and I decided that we needed a break from the kids, home and the life in general so we took off for a trip up to Mammoth for a few days. Uncle Tom and Aunt Mary were kind enough to let us use their condo which made the trip even better. Their condo is very cozy with a beautiful view and a great escape from the usual.
We went up without any particular plans. We took long, meandering drives enjoying the beautiful Fall foliage. On our first full day there we found ourselves driving up to Yosemite to Tioga Pass and out to Tuolumne Meadows. On our way back we drove through June Lake. What a gorgeous drive. We knew that before we left we would be back through again and we were the next day.
Most of the photographs I took on our trip were of the trees. I don’t think I eve stopped to take pictures of us or much else. The tress were just far to beautiful and kept me distracted. We did have a lot of fun though. Driving, enjoying the scenery, finding new places to eat in the area. We had Mexican, Thai, tried the Tiger Bar in June Lake (the fries were fabulous) and even cooked one night at the condo. We did sight seeing around the lakes and checked out several local art galleries too. Found a few lovely prints and pieces to put up at home.
On Saturday night we even felt a little bit of rocking and rolling! There had been a 5.3 Earthquake along the San Andreas fault just outside of King City, California and we felt it all the way in Mammoth. I was a little on edge afterwards but that didn’t stop us from taking a late night drive around Lake Mary. We had hoped to see a bear but didn’t. We came close though! There were tracks leading up from the lake to the hills that were definitely bear tracks. The tracks were made of water and were fairly complete so we must have just missed him!
On our last night Shaun made reservation for the Restaurant at Convict Lake. It was a bit pricey, but worth every penny that we spent. Our salads were delicious and our entrees’ were to die for. I had the pork tenderloin medallions that were marinated in root beer (yes, root beer) and Shaun had the Beef Wellington. I loved my food but I have to say, the next time we are up there and decide to eat at Convict Lake, I will enjoy the Beef Wellington as well. So amazing.
After dinner we rolled ourselves out to our car and headed back to the condo. We relaxed, read and enjoyed being inside as the wind howled outside. Around midnight we decided to take a drive into town and it was worth it. It was starting snow! Nothing was sticking but it was starting to come down in small little flakes. As we drove up Old Mammoth Road, we crept past a restaurant that has large wood carvings of bears outside. Suddenly, one of those bears started moving. It wasn’t a carving it was an actual bear! A rather large and nosy Black Bear. We followed him as he meandered along, trying to get into dumpsters that are now bear proofed. At one point we had to try and slow down several drivers as the bear took his time crossing the road and even had to warn a man who had been out walking that he was walking right towards the bear. Eventually we lost him but we certainly enjoyed seeing a bear in town!
The following morning we woke up to quite a shock, tons and tons of snow! So much for the light dusting that all of the weather channels were reporting. Our car was trapped under at least a foot of snow. We did our best to pack up the car and leave the condo, but it took us nearly an hour and a half to get on the road. The neighbor next door tried to help but eventually the guy who drives the snow plow for the community had to get us out. once out we had to get down Davidson which is a very steep hill. The city plow came by just before we started down, which actually hurt us more then it helped. All it did was remove the crunchy, gritty snow and exposed the slick ice underneath. So the first slide, despite going with it, landed us in the snow embankment just created by the plow. Luckily we were able to get out of it and down the hill. When we reached the stop sign we started to slide again. Luckily no one was coming so we were able to go with it and turn out onto the main road. From there the trip home was a smooth one. We even stopped at the Casino and won a few bucks! Despite the hard time getting out we had a blast. Cant wait to get back to Mammoth soon and even if its summer, we are bringing the tire chains!
The Wharton Adventures 