More Vacation

A friend recommended a hike that would not be too crowded and she was right!

I skipped the little loop before Heart Lake that focused
on the gold mining days and headed up. I did not see anyone
on the way up, anyone at the lake, or anyone on the way down!

If you have very sharp eyes you can see a mining structure
in the center on the far-right side of this picture.

It was not a very long hike so I had time to explore

the library and 

a thrift store.

Two sets of friends were in town so there were a lot of people riding together. 

No problem since there were a lot of trails to ride!

photo credit A.

photo credit Jacob

I am so happy they were having a good time and

so happy I was not on even the blue trails!

Start of Vacation

On our way to Mammoth we made two stops. 

A visit to Manzanar is not an upbeat occasion
but we did not regret learning a bit more.

Not far away is Erick Schat's Bakery, which is a popular place
on a Sunday in the summer. After getting a few things
we enjoyed a picnic in the city park across the street.

When we first arrived in town we had time to get in a little ride. The guys went off to meet friends and do a more technical ride.

I rode the uptown trail to

Earthquake Fault, which is really an enormous fissure.

I rode the downtown trail back to the room, which was not a whole lot easier for me than going uphill. I guess I am more of a pavement kind of person. The good thing was that it was late enough in the day that there were very few people on the trail. The other good thing was staying at a place a very short distance from the trail.

Underground Plumbing System

There are so many posts to write, but the biggest surprise on our vacation was the Hot Creek Geological Site.

It would be easy to miss the sign off of I-395, but we found it. Not long after leaving the main road the pavement ends and changes to gravel. We brought our bikes and decided to cycle the last couple miles.

It is not a long hike down to the creek.

We thought this sign was very American - no nude bathing!

It is easy to see the steam from the colorful pools,

But we were surprised to see bubbles coming up in other places, too.

It was tempting to take a dip, but in the end we enjoyed
just walking around before cycling and driving back.

Holiday

How did you celebrate National Baseball Card Day? I heard about it while listening to a game and looked to find a local store. Lucky for me it was very close to the bicycle store where D. was picking up A.'s bike, which had an unusual problem that one unusual part (and some money) could fix.

D. was given this pack - what luck! The store is one part collectibles and one part tables with people playing games, mostly Magic the Gathering, but some others, too. Maybe one day I will take in my boxes of complete sets that I got with Bazooka bubble gum comics back in the late 1980's (I think).

Handyman

When I have finished my chores I often do a crossword puzzle, catch up on reading the newspapers, or something else unproductive. D. is not that way. When the weekend rolls around instead of recuperating from a long week he will put fresh caulk around the kitchen sink and tubs, work on bicycles, or keep looking until he finds something else.

A long time ago we were given a set of camping chairs as wedding gifts. We used them for camping, concerts in the park, and trips to the beach.

Unfortunately one of the seats sustained significant damage.

D. was looking for some good canvas and
I suggested one of these bags, which was
part of a collection of bags he had sent
home after cleaning his office.

D. cut off the handles and two corners.

Task completed.
Now he'll have to find something else to do!

Substitute adventure partner

I loved this article in the food section so much that we took a trip to check it out. I also think it is healthy to go places where I don't look like a single person in the store and I don't know what a lot of them are saying.

Here are some things we did not buy.

Wow - the first ingredient in the acorn starch
gel was acorn starch. I was a teeny bit
tempted to buy it, but resisted.

Here are some things we did buy.

A. had lunch in the food court. While he was eating someone at the same table was waiting for his order and had with him a six-pack of banana milk. Because I was with a teenager I resisted the urge to ask if he had read the same article and if he agreed with its assessment about people who buy banana milk.

If you buy this: You’re a soft-hearted baby who cries over every stray animal that crosses your path.

Normally I end up just staying within cycling distance so I am grateful to have people to go on adventures with.

And there are those kinds of days

My favorite water bottle was not leak-proof and damaged the library book I had in the bag with it.

And now I can't find my favorite water bottle. I can picture it being exactly where I thought I left it, but I don't know where it actually is. It is not like we don't have a cabinet full of water bottles

although we have four less than before because I found two old ones to get rid of and two new ones to give away.

I had the library book on the counter, waiting to go back to the library. Then my eye caught the whole watermelon, also on the counter. And in a moment of idiocy I decided the watermelon would be a good weight to help flatten the book. Wrong.

Maybe Benjamin Franklin said that when life gives you 

a partially-smashed watermelon, make fruit salad.