FULL MOONS AND FIREWORKS!

Decided to link up with Sundays in my City since we go here every year!  

So do you remember my post "I Made My Peace With It" that I wrote before our trip to Mammoth Lakes? Well not to long after we got home I mentioned that I was having a hard time writing about the trip. I have been home almost three week now and I am still struggling with writing about our trip.

My friend Betty said this in a comment to me: "Maybe you don't want to write about Mammoth because with it being such a nice time you want to keep that to yourself; to treasure it within your heart?" I think she nailed it! I don't know if I can tell you how wonderful this trip was. The cabin was perfect and the location made it accessible for me to be able to do some walking which I haven't done in year!

We left at 5am in hopes of avoiding the traffic on Route 395 North which has several stretches of road that are 2 lanes which means a lot of passing going on. It worked out fine and leaving early was a great idea. Since we had extra time before we could check in we ate breakfast at the Ranch House Cafe and I got to go to the Indian Casino for awhile. We did our normal Schat's Bakery and Mahogany Smoke Meat stops which are in Bishop, CA. Then in Mammoth we bought our food supplies and headed to Woods Lodge on Lake George.

This cabin has a much larger gathering room with kitchen. Two bedrooms and a bath. Double the size porch and the second bedroom had a sink area which would be really nice if the kids gone us.

Sunday was a great day. Mark made breakfast daily which was a nice treat. I was able to leave the cabin and go for a walk. This new cabin works out really well for me. Monday we ended up going back into town because I wanted to post on Facebook and here that we had no Internet. So while we were there we shopped at the little outlet mall.

They have Ralph Lauren, Bass, Coach and Van Heusen. When we had gone to Vegas we stopped at Bass and we had signed up for their rewards program. So I had some discount coupons and also some rewards money from them. Well I got my new walking shoes and two blouses which are adorable for under $20.00!  With their great sale going on plus my 30% off coupon my tops cost me under $3. and the shoes came out to $18. Can't beat that. We went fishing for awhile and got one of those great pizza to take home.

Not a great photo but we had a full moon on the lake every night!
It is a rare pleasure when we get one in Mammoth.

Basically I did a lot of reading. Mark did a lot of hiking and I went on several easy walks. We also did some fishing again. Wednesday we went to Crowley Lake outside of Mammoth Lakes to go see some fireworks. It was a fun evening. When we went we were still having the full moon so I got a photo of both. Not a great photo but you get the point.

One hike in particular was nice. For the last 2 years they have been working on a bike trail through the woods which is now complete. It is about 4 1/2 miles through the woods and I love that the bikers are off the road. It is absolutely fantastic. It is also for walking and we walked about 1 1/2 miles of it to one point and back. If you ever get to Mammoth Lakes you have to do it. What was good for me is that it is paved and easier than walking down a dirt path. It it rolling so going up hill I had to take a few breaks but the best part was that I DID IT!

This is called Crystal Craig. I haven't hiked up there in years. This is were we want out ashes to go because there is a lovely lake at the top. Mark walks to it each year!

Yes there was a bear. Mark actually saw him a few times, I saw him twice. When we checked in Mark always asks the guy if any bears have been around. He told us about this bear who walks around the lake and scares everyone into giving him their fish. Kinda funny. He hasn't hurt anyone, he just knows what they are doing and wants the fish.

The dear showed up our last morning although Mark had seen a dear the first morning we woke up in Mammoth Lakes. I took this through the window. I didn't want to take the chance of scaring him. I must have taken about 20 pictures of this deer. He was very close to the cabin.

Love the reflections.

Chipmunk

I have a thing for dead trees, I always photograph them.

We had fished a few time. We caught a few little guys. We never catch and eat anymore so we gave them their freedom.

 For some reason this cabin did not have any bake ware. We often  roast chicken, pork chops and veggies at home. They did have two cast iron skillets so I did the meat in one and the veggies in the other one in the oven. We had a few meals this way. The pans were actually amazing and I think I need one at home. Also we did the corn in the oven like I saw on Pinterest. We loved it and Mark thought it was the best ever. We had the corn and hot dogs on the 4th of July. Also we had one of our favorite pizzas twice!

We didn't go anywhere this year. We talked about going to Bodie Ghost Town because I would love to go back and take pictures. The building are old, definitely worthy of photographing and the cemetery stones are full of history. We had gone with the kids when they were younger and haven't been back in years. Last year we took a day trip to Yosemite. Maybe next year.

I loved our week in Mammoth Lakes, it was one of the best! I felt totally relaxed and it was actually wonderful to be away from my computer.  I think we forget the hold it has on us.

Gee, I guess I wrote it after all!

P.S. I know you may have seen some of this photos in earlier posts but they are certainly worth repeating. Also after 18 years of going to Mammoth Lakes and 10 years on Lake George I have taken similar photos each year. Also I worked on this so many times, so many different days and have read it over and over again that if I repeated something somewhere or it sounds out of order please forgive me.