Ok so it has taken me a good 4 weeks to get this up but better late than never. We were able to get up to Mammoth Lakes for a last hurrah before Baby J is here with us this past month. It was extra special because we were in Mammoth Lakes back in February when we found out we were having a baby and then we got married up there in May so we have been back for visits for each trimester of this pregnancy. I hope we can go again with Baby J as soon as he can travel. We already have a teeny little ski outfit for him!
I was 33 weeks and 8 months along and so we stayed overnight in Bishop to acclimatize the first night just in case.
We stayed at the main ski lodge right at the foot of Mammoth Mountain which transforms from ski runs to BMX/mountain bike runs in the summertime.
Here's some snaps of our lodge:
We promptly decided to take the gondola up the mountain after unpacking for some lunch up top. Mind you, I knew we were at around 8,500 ft elevation but stupidly thought we were only going up another 1000 or so which I figured was okay for me being at 8 months.
Our lodge looking teeny below us as we headed up.
That reservoir down below is the halfway point up the mountain. I was starting to get nervous.
We got off finally to see this sign:
Yipes. We were at over 11,000 feet elevation. I almost immediately got the dizzy spins and a headache so we ate quickly.
We headed back down.
I will say I felt pretty off after that so just rested up and we had a great organic dinner at Lulu's in town with friends.
We ended up the next day going for a delicious swim up at June Lake where we were married in May. Finally, instead of snow, we got summer. The water was perfect.
A prerequisite belly shot:
More belly:
Then we drove up to Minaret Vista just above our lodge to catch sunset as it fell upon the majestic aptly titled minarets.
The following morning we got up bright and early to catch the tram into Devil's Postpile National Monument. I had no idea how vast this monument is at nearly 800 acres.
from wikipedia:
Devils Postpile was once part of Yosemite National Park, but discovery of gold near Mammoth Lakes prompted a boundary change that left the Postpile on adjacent public land. A proposal to build a hydroelectric dam
later called for blasting the Postpile into the river. Influential
Californians, including Walter L. Huber, persuaded the federal
government to stop the demolition and in 1911, President Howard Taft made the area into a United States National Monument. The John Muir Trail and Pacific Crest Trail pass through the monument.
A snap of Matt as we set off on the 1 1/2 mile roundtrip hike to the monument so we could see the Postpile firsthand.
The landscape here goes deep into the valleys between the mountains and is off limits during the winter when its snowed in so it was chilly in the early hours as we were down lower.
These are pretty amazing in person.
Here is what they are:
Devils Postpile is a dark cliff of columnar basalt near Mammoth Mountain in extreme northeastern Madera County in eastern California. The postpile was created by a lava flow sometime between less than 100,000 years ago (according to current potassium-argon dating)
to 700,000 years ago (according to other dating methods). The source of
the lava is thought to have been somewhere near Upper Soda Springs campground at the north end of Pumice Flat on the floor of the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River, from where it flowed to the site of the Postpile, was impounded by a moraine,
and reached a thickness of 400 feet (newer estimate) to 600 feet (older
estimate). In any event, the lava that now makes up the Postpile was
near the bottom of this mass.
Because of its great thickness, much of the mass of pooled lava
cooled slowly and evenly, which is why the columns are so long and so
symmetrical. Columnar jointing occurs when certain types of lava cool;
the joints develop when the lava contracts during the cooling process.
A glacier later removed much of this mass of rock and left a nicely polished surface on top of the Postpile with very noticeable glacial striations and glacial polish.
Pretty nifty!
I was feeling good so it was my idea to hike the additional 3 1/2 miles to Rainbow Fall. I am such a sucker for a goodlooking waterfall.
Mind you, my feet were so swollen I couldn't even wear shoes so I did it all in Croc flip flops and I was lucky I didn't have the baby on the trail haha.
I couldn't have done it without my Matty though! He pushed me from behind with each bit of incline and gave me lots of support.
The next time we are there, we will head down further to the Lower Falls where swimming is great. It really is so magical there.
These steps carved into the mountainside were killer to climb up.
^This will be Baby J next year on Matt's back!
Then we headed into adjacent Red's Meadow for some tasty lunch and to see the horses.
If you are ever up this way and have just hiked 5 miles in flip flops at 8 months of being pregnant, please reward yourself with a nice slice of freshly made boysenberry pie a la mode at the Mulehouse Cafe.
A picture of Ronald Reagan up here with Red and the boys from way back when.
Now that was a solid and freshly made slab of pie. Yes indeed BUT the
best pie hands-down is up a twisting and winding road into the Sierras
further south. A trek and definitely off the beaten path but so worth
it. More on that in a few here.
We headed back to the lodge and hit the pool and jacuzzi to revive our weary bods before meeting a friend for some Irish supper at Ye Aulde Dubliner in Mammoth. The shepherd's pie hit the spot.
The next day upon multiple recommendations, we headed down towards Convict Lake to Rock Creek Lakes Resort Cafe to get what is deemed the best pie in the Sierras.
Seriously.
We were told about this place by 3 different people- all locals- 2 in Mammoth Lakes and 1 the lady who ran the Mulehouse Cafe in Devil's Postpile. We took this to be the truth as Rock Creek Lakes is nearly an hour's drive away but it was on our way south back home so we determined to try this pie in the sky.
We were also told to get there by 10:30 am at the latest or don't bother as the pies sell out.
They sell these pies which are baked fresh each morning at a teeny lunch counter with only 7 stools and one table in a the smallest of cafes up a winding road into the mountains.
It could be very easy to miss and we had a bit of trouble finding the right turn off but eventually got it right (partly due to the fact that everyone for miles around knows this place and helped to point us in the right way).
We were told to turn right at the old wagon.
On a sidebar, the campsites up in this part of the Sierras is fantastically gorgeous and we determined to come back when we can and do some camping.
I was crushed to see my favorite pie ever- Rhubarb- was already sold out. A super nice gal sitting to my right got the last slice and she graciously offered me her last few bites. I know that sounds crazy but that is how it is up there. I took her up on it and man, oh man, was it ever delectable. While we sat, a few more pies sold out.
We got a slice each of the Loganberry and the Chocolate Chip Pecan. The Cheddar Pear wasn't ready (set) yet.
Look at these slices and prepare to drool:
We would have gotten a whole pie to take home to LA but they only sell by the slice due to high demand. No wonder Sunset Magazine wrote them up and even gave a recipe for their Peach Pie. I may have to try to make this. The crust is amazingly delicious. Both Matt and I gobbled our slices down.
Best pie ever.
We jumped back on the road heading south. Oh yes, here is a snap of our new little car Jing Jing (named for the Olympic diver)- a Versa that got us up into the mountains and back no problem!
On the way south to LA, we stopped for a late lunch in the teeny teeny town- if you can call it that- of Independence at a recommended authentic French bistro called Still Life. They use organic products and the place has an old school jazz motif. If you are ever passing through, stop off.
The pasta was simple yet so fresh and delicious.
It was a great little trip and for us, Mammoth Lakes and the Eastern Sierras in general is just a special place to us both. It was where we took one of our first real trips together and have since had so many wonderful things happen for us up there. We can't wait to share it with our son on the first of many family trips.
This drink enjoyed great acceptance over the next few years in California
and in Seattle when we opened Trader Vic's there in 1948. In 1953 the Mai
Tai was brought by me to the Hawaiian Islands, when I was asked by the
Matson Steamship Lines to formalize drinks for the bars at their Royal
Hawaiian, Moana and Surfrider Hotels. Any old Kamaaina can tell you about
this drink and of its rapid spread throughout the islands.
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