Immediately after OpenWorld, Basil and I took off and headed to the town of Mammoth Lakes, east of the Sierra’s. I didn’t set aside any time to research this spot, so luckily Basil had the entire trip mapped out. In fact, I knew so little about where we were headed that I told my boss embarrassingly that I was going to “Lake Mammoth.”

We knew that Tioga Pass through Yosemite was closed due to snow, so we took an alternate route through Bear Valley. We were giddily 45 minutes from our hotel when a park ranger informs us that there is a rock slide up ahead and that we would need to take another road into Mammoth Lakes. No biggie, just a 3 1/2 hour detour. Bad news since I was pretty much passed out at this point and Basil was barely awake, driving on FUMES. It was pitch black out, super foggy, and Basil was navigating the windy roads in a zombie-like state with no guarantee that the route that we chose would remain open. But the real highlight of the drive was being stalked by and verbally attacked by a drunken angry man in the middle of the night. He actually leaned into our car on the passenger side as I yelped and whimpered and covered my head with my sweatshirt. But no matter, once we finally arrived, the trip was fantastic! Total time on road: 8.5 hours

Road Trip:

Other trip highlights:
1. Visiting the gold mining ghost town of Bodie, which has a history of murderous inhabitants. I bet the smelly man that stopped us the night before would have fit in real well here. “Goodbye God, I’m going to Bodie” was a popular saying coined by a little girl whose family moved to the town. Great place to walk around and imagine what the town must have been like when it was bustling with families, robbers, miners, store owners, gunfighters and prostitutes. It’s rumored that there was a man killed every day in Bodie.

2. Mobil Restaurant (also known as Whoa Nellie Deli) in Lee Vining
(22 Vista Point Rd., Lee Vining, CA 93541)
Believe it or not, this deli found inside a Mobile gas station mart serves up high quality food and provides a great view of Mono Lake. (Try the fries and the calamari sandwich if you visit.) I’ve heard rumors of live bands playing here on summer nights with the occasional belly dancer. And though we weren’t lucky enough to visit while the trapeze artists were present, I hear they offer up lessons to tourists.

3. Mono Lake
Mark Twain wrote of Mono, “Its sluggish waters are so strong with alkali that if you only dip the most hopelessly soiled garment into them once or twice, and wring it out, it will be found as clean as if it had been through the ablest of washer woman’s hands.”

We entered in at the South Tufa area which has the most spectacular views, especially of the tufa towers. If you get a chance to swim in this lake, the salty waters are said to keep you “delightfully buoyant.” The issue I would have is sharing the waters with the masses of brine shrimp and the alkaline flies that swarm around the water’s edges. But perhaps worth a try although I’m itchy just thinking about it. Great place to take pictures.

4. June Lake Loop

Need I say more?

5. Breakfast at Schat’s Bakery
(3305 Main St, Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546)
Try the cheese bread and a latte.

Photo props to Basil, except for those taken of Mobil. (You can see where my affections lie.)