My kids will soon be headed back to school, so we took one last summer trip. Money is tight so we decided that a camping trip would be the lower cost way to go. We left mid-week and headed for the eastern Sierras. After ridiculously poor air-quality in Sacramento for weeks, we were very pleased to find bright blue skies. When we left home I noticed gas was (only) $3.99 a gallon, in Bridgeport it was $5.19 and it wasn't much better in Lee Vining (just east of Yosemite). We found a beautiful campsite along a delightful stream and set up camp. Our location was close to a natural hot spring, which was nice for all the little aches and pains. More...
The place is well known for its fishing, but we didn't have any luck (or skill). We heard about these incredible cheeseburgers (don't tell OC115)and they were so good I could feel my arteries harden. Back at the campsite the kids (and the dog) had a great time. Mrs. Sac Dem said she really enjoyed cooking over the fire (I cleaned the dishes, which wasn't all that special). We visited a nearby lake and paddled our little boats (plastic sit on top boats that are more than 15 years old). While driving on Hwy 395 we noticed lots of full sized pick-up trucks. Just as I was feeling a little too smug about these obnoxious vehicles filling up on $5.19 a gallon gas, I heard a noise (my minivan get 30% better mileage than many full size pick-ups, but 24 mpg isn't really anything to crow about). When I looked in the rear view mirror, my jaw dropped. Our bright plastic boats were flying free in the wind. Apparently the spring loaded straps that had served us well for many years finally gave out (I really should of checked them better, but in my rush to pack, I obviously didn't pay close enough attention). Fortunately the boats coming loose didn't cause an accident on the highway. Almost immediately two of those big Full sized pick-ups stopped, alerted oncoming traffic, and pulled the boats out of the road. They loaded the boats in the back and drove them down to us. All I could say was "Thank-you so much", and just like that they were off again. Eventually I figured out how to attach the boats more securely, and by that time my heart-rate was back to a reasonable level. From there we went to Devil's Postpile in Inyo National Forest. They make most vehicles park at Mammoth Ski Resort and then you can take a shuttle to the trailhead. At Yosemite it would have cost $20 to get in (for the vehicle), the shuttle ended up being $37, but that was for a party of 7 (2 adults would be $14). The shuttle was comfortable, and they were in constant contact with the dispatcher to let them know where they were and when the bus was full (so they could send an extra bus up to keep the wait time down). I did not see 1 McCain/Bush/Cheney/Republican anything, not counting ourselves we saw 4 Obama bumper stickers and 1 T-shirt, we also so 1 Montgomery Burns sticker "Excellent", but the hands down winner had to be the American Flag magnet without any lettering.