Camping

I have a love/hate relationship with vacations. You see, for me they are never really vacations. I like camping because Superman does most of the work, actually. He puts up the tent, he makes the fires and cooks the food. I help but not a whole lot. So in that respect, it is a vacation for me and I love that.

I also love being with my family. Everyone but Sunshine was there! Last week we went to Mammoth Lakes, the last time I was in that area was when I was 11-years-old and stayed at my friend's cabin for week. Her parents took us on a horseback ride up in the mountains where we stayed overnight (I think). I got to go twice with them, once in the summer (for two weeks) and once in the winter for skiing (one week). It was awesome so I had good memories.

We drove up there without a reservation and were able to get a pretty good spot at June Lake, which is about 20 miles north of Mammoth (City of). It was hot enough for swimming in the lake (June Lake is one of the few lakes up there you can actually swim in) but I didn't. Crackle and Pop did, of course. They have been known to go in the ocean in the winter so ... yeah.

On the 4th we drove south above Crowley Lake and watched some awesome fireworks. We have a tradition of getting KFC but the closest one was over an hour away so we ended up getting Vons chicken instead. It was good and their Mac & Cheese is mighty tasty, if I do say so myself. Superman prides himself on finding the most remote spots and we did pretty good. I was actually a little nervous on the dirt road up a steep hill that basically went nowhere... but then we were joined by another vehicle. Haha!

We spent one day driving around Mammoth and seeing the sights. There are some beautiful mountain views, although we did not go for any hikes. We stopped at the actual Mammoth Resort where the ski lifts and infamous Gondola take people up the mountain. There were lots of mountain bikers, an activity area for kids with a rock wall for kids to climb (Pop did).

We took our puppy with us. That was both entertaining and OY frustrating. She is really good with strangers. So good that we had to tie her up from time to time. She actually barked at some boys who surprised her by coming near our campsite from the road. For the most part she entertained herself, and us, by chewing on sticks, pine cones and anything else she could sink her teeth into; including daddy's face and water bottles.

The drive up was good. We left around 4 am on Wednesday (the 3rd) and arrived mid-day since we had to stop for food and potty (pup, remember). We drove around Mammoth (4-5 campgrounds) before finding the one ... finally.

The drive home was okay. A little stressful. Packing up always stresses out Superman and this trip was no different. We got packed up and headed out by 10 am. Ellie-Mae (the pup) seemed a little stressed and wouldn't pee at stop one (at a rest area) or stop two (in Bishop, where we had lunch at a very crowded Carl's Jr.). She did, however, show her love for daddy by hopping on his lap about a half hour out of Bishop and proceeded to pee all the water and ice we'd been giving her because of the heat.

Needless to say Daddy was not pleased, but puppy is still alive (well and happy) and Daddy still loves her. We did have to make an emergency stop to sop it up and Daddy to change his clothes by the side of the road, this involved rooting through the packed trailer for his bag. At this juncture Ellie-Mae decided she did need to poop. Thank goodness!

Superman was not a happy camper at this point.

Then we hit "going-home-on-the-fourth-of-July-weekend" traffic. We were at a standstill in what felt like 100+ degree heat. Superman turned on Highway to Hell at full blast and we sang as a family.

Good times!

We finally got home around 5 pm-ish, unpacked, showered (so happy to shower after 5 days of grime!) and ate what we could find and took ourselves to bed in our own beds.

Our next trip is in 3 weeks when we take our annual houseboat trip to Lake Powell. I am looking forward to that one. A week+ on the water with extended family where I will get to see Sunshine again!