Hot Tubbing in Mammoth

Before you arrive in the town of Mammoth Lakes, CA there are tons of hot springs that dot the land leading up to the mountain. We pulled up to one of the spots and there were about 8 folks enjoying the tub together. So, we decided to wait until the crowd thinned out a bit. We amused ourselves by watching Daisy & Hazel's first encounter with cows. It boiled down to a lot of barking, mooing, and laughing. The game rapidly morphed into making sure Daisy didn't roll in any sweet smelling manure. After the folks cleared out, Peter and I made our way down the boardwalk to the spring. There were two guys in the 8' by 12' tub when we arrived - sans clothes. Immediately, I felt as if we'd interrupted something. However, I was freezing in my bikini so we made our way in the pool and introduced ourselves. Rather than names, we exchanged hometowns. That made sense since I couldn't see them and I never would again.

Hood River meet

Flagstaff meet

Sacramento meet

Lake Tahoe meet

San Diego meet...

and so on...

Fair enough. Another guy arrived as we did with his dog, Marvin, a really big beer and an even bigger "cigarette." Soon after, another guy came with a smoke that rivaled the first if you can imagine. I didn't have trouble seeing these because of their sheer size, even in the dark! The conversation lulled after the introductions and the funny tobacco. So, Peter and I spent our time taking in the expansive stars. They were so bright and they were everywhere. I was bedazzled. As I checked out the sky to the south, I noticed that there were at least 12 blinking stars. The more I watched them, the less they moved. All I could think of was Area 54. Maybe this tract of the Eastern Sierras was the western branch of the UFO Superhighway? As I was considering this, Mr. Lake Tahoe remarked about the blinking lights also. Phew! I wasn't the only person with extraterrestrial thoughts! I believe that Mr. Sacramento a.k.a. Mr. I know it all quipped that this area was a flight path for many airlines. I wanted to believe him, so I did. Then, another duo of dudes arrived. When one guy in the tub - I think it was Mr. Flagstaff - greeted one of the guys as "Transylvania", I knew it was our time to vacate the premises. When Mr. Transylvania procured a small Heinken keg from his backpack and solicited "about two others" to help with it, my need to leave was soundly cemented. Peter and I slipped out and skedaddled back to Home Sweet Blanca.

We spent a few more days in Mammouth. It was fun seeing where Peter hung out and ski patrolled for a few winters. It is a neat town. We did some hikes with amazing scenery while we were there.

We pressed north. We saw Lake Tahoe - which is gorgeous, clear blue, and HUGE. Our last night in CA we spent in Lake Almovar (?). We noticed a huge cloud from the beach at this stop. It was a forest fire. I wondered if we were being chased by evil forces of Nature? What did we ever do to them? We were respectful and honored their strength and power. Oh well. We decided to head all the way to Portland the next day. We were sick of being in the van and we were ready to be home.