Echo, echoo... echooo! Followed by the sound of crickets, a few tumbleweeds, and you get the general vibe of this blog, lol. It seems I continue to use the "busy" card when it comes to keepin' up with the latest, but there is hope yet! Ok, so... a quick recap then. And by quick, I mean just what happened the other weekend. I don't think I will be able to quickly sum up the beginning of that 2-week drive through 12 states last month in an RV in this post. Ohh no, that I will save for another time. No need to thank me. :) 
What can I say, summer is endlessly full of possibilities for our family. I've been known to wander, be listless & stir-crazy to the point that I must get out... anywhere, I don't care. Coupled with curiousity and unbinding schedule, we headed out once again to wherever the road took us.
My fascination with ghost towns took us here in Bodie, California. It is situated right along the border of Nevada, just north of Mono Lake. So much history, memorabilias left behind from decades past. I must say, it is probably the most well-preserved abandoned town I've ever visited. Another one that comes to mind is the Calico Town which is also in California. But, before our visit took us to this old mining town, we were heading up to Mammoth Lakes, CA. We drove through Hwy. 395 along the Sierra Nevada mountains, stopping by Big Pine, as well as Lone Pine. The latter is well-known location for several old western shows, including "Bonanza" I believe. (Wiki infos -- here)
This long & quite stretch of highway is also gateway to both Mt. Whitney (the highest summit in the USA) and Death Valley (the lowest point) which I'm sure sounds familiar to a lot of people. It's interesting how these polar opposites happen to be within miles of each other and was absolutely exciting to be within distance of these places rather than just being on a diorama that we did for school. It is also good to know that these roads takes you to the Sequoia National Park, as well as the Yosemite National Park... both of which we have already visited last winter and numerous times previously. Another point of interest, a grim spot in American history is the Manzanar National Historic Site, where the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII is located. It's a sobering walk through inside the museum for which I am glad my children were exposed to in real life and not just from the pages in their social studies book. (Side note: if you've read the highly acclaimed novel "Snow Falling on Cedars" by David Guterson and/or seen the movie bearing the same title, this is the relocation camp mentioned). 
So, here we are in Mammoth Lakes, California. It is a favorite tourist ski destination in the wintertime, but we opted to visit this summer to get a leg on hiking the mountains without difficulty. The rain notwithstanding, it was a pretty easy, great for the body & mind workout, filled with wildlife discoveries along our path. The Devil's Post Pile photo below:
These places are accesible only by shuttle busses, by the way, for which you have to purchase tickets from a resort building. Then, a couple more miles into the 6-mile hike, we came upon the most-anticipated view I'd hoped to see --- the Rainbow Falls... gorgeous in all its glory. And yes, you do see a rainbow or two when the sun shines upon it. What followed was another hike down to the lower falls where my crazy husband and even crazier kids thought it would be fun to "hang out" with legs dipped into the mouth of the waterfall... yeah, right where it goes dowwwn... crashing right unto rocks. OMG. :P Let's just say that I held my breath until we were outta there!
Well, I lived to tell the tale, lol. Not only that, but another weekend after this trip, we planned another excursion up in the mountains, the Palomar Mountain, to be exact. It's just a few hours nearby Julian, CA in the San Diego county where we hiked again for fresh air, wildlife, a water spot, and an abandoned old frontier cabin. The previous day, we trekked out to the beach for one fantastic bonfire at night complete with scrumptious & sticky s'mores!
It has been a memorable summer, so much of it swirling in my head and needing the right time soon to document them all down into fun little scrapbooks pages. I look at my scrap supplies with longing, but I remind myself that soon enough when school starts, it will be the perfect time. Right now, we are totally in the thick of making memories and life... it is definitely good!
What can I say, summer is endlessly full of possibilities for our family. I've been known to wander, be listless & stir-crazy to the point that I must get out... anywhere, I don't care. Coupled with curiousity and unbinding schedule, we headed out once again to wherever the road took us.
My fascination with ghost towns took us here in Bodie, California. It is situated right along the border of Nevada, just north of Mono Lake. So much history, memorabilias left behind from decades past. I must say, it is probably the most well-preserved abandoned town I've ever visited. Another one that comes to mind is the Calico Town which is also in California. But, before our visit took us to this old mining town, we were heading up to Mammoth Lakes, CA. We drove through Hwy. 395 along the Sierra Nevada mountains, stopping by Big Pine, as well as Lone Pine. The latter is well-known location for several old western shows, including "Bonanza" I believe. (Wiki infos -- here)
This long & quite stretch of highway is also gateway to both Mt. Whitney (the highest summit in the USA) and Death Valley (the lowest point) which I'm sure sounds familiar to a lot of people. It's interesting how these polar opposites happen to be within miles of each other and was absolutely exciting to be within distance of these places rather than just being on a diorama that we did for school. It is also good to know that these roads takes you to the Sequoia National Park, as well as the Yosemite National Park... both of which we have already visited last winter and numerous times previously. Another point of interest, a grim spot in American history is the Manzanar National Historic Site, where the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII is located. It's a sobering walk through inside the museum for which I am glad my children were exposed to in real life and not just from the pages in their social studies book. (Side note: if you've read the highly acclaimed novel "Snow Falling on Cedars" by David Guterson and/or seen the movie bearing the same title, this is the relocation camp mentioned). So, here we are in Mammoth Lakes, California. It is a favorite tourist ski destination in the wintertime, but we opted to visit this summer to get a leg on hiking the mountains without difficulty. The rain notwithstanding, it was a pretty easy, great for the body & mind workout, filled with wildlife discoveries along our path. The Devil's Post Pile photo below:These places are accesible only by shuttle busses, by the way, for which you have to purchase tickets from a resort building. Then, a couple more miles into the 6-mile hike, we came upon the most-anticipated view I'd hoped to see --- the Rainbow Falls... gorgeous in all its glory. And yes, you do see a rainbow or two when the sun shines upon it. What followed was another hike down to the lower falls where my crazy husband and even crazier kids thought it would be fun to "hang out" with legs dipped into the mouth of the waterfall... yeah, right where it goes dowwwn... crashing right unto rocks. OMG. :P Let's just say that I held my breath until we were outta there!
Well, I lived to tell the tale, lol. Not only that, but another weekend after this trip, we planned another excursion up in the mountains, the Palomar Mountain, to be exact. It's just a few hours nearby Julian, CA in the San Diego county where we hiked again for fresh air, wildlife, a water spot, and an abandoned old frontier cabin. The previous day, we trekked out to the beach for one fantastic bonfire at night complete with scrumptious & sticky s'mores!
It has been a memorable summer, so much of it swirling in my head and needing the right time soon to document them all down into fun little scrapbooks pages. I look at my scrap supplies with longing, but I remind myself that soon enough when school starts, it will be the perfect time. Right now, we are totally in the thick of making memories and life... it is definitely good!Now, I wonder where we are heading next weekend... ;)
