A trip to Mono and Mammoth Lakes

We enjoyed the labor day weekend in the eastern Sierras, just east of Yosemite National Park. A longer drive than expected rewarded us with great weather, wonderful views, and good ol' family time.

We stayed in the town of Mammoth Lakes. It's a mountain town and suitable for snow skiing and mountain biking. Or just for bummin' around on the weekend.

We visited Devils Postpile not far from Mammoth Lakes. It's the same kind of rock columns as Devils Rower but instead of sticking straight out of the ground, it's on a cliff. We started on an interpretive tour which Peter and Claudia enjoyed. My guide was Juliet and she was more interested in walking on the rocks and logs.

Claudia filled out her booklet to become a junior ranger. This is her swearing in. The guide wasn't as creepy in person as he looks in the picture. Claudia's interpretation of "raise your right hand" is a little interesting. :-) Claudia received a junior ranger patch.

We visited Mono Lake which is an inland sea (like the Great Salt Lake, but not quite as salty). It's 2.5x saltier than the ocean. There's no fish in the lake. There are lots of brine shrimp and tons of flies! The seagulls hang out eating all of them. Here the girls are, ready for another interpretive walk. 

The girls went fishing for brine shrimp and caught a few with their cup and stick. They were teeny tiny.

Check out this money shot, with the green grass, the lake the tufa (limestone columns) and the mountains with a little bit of snow on them. 

At Mammoth mountain they had a kid's zip line. Claudia wanted to do it so we bought a ticket and got her harnessed up. As soon as Juliet saw her with a harness she told me she wanted to do it too. After asking her many questions to make sure that it wasn't just about wearing the harness; that she would be zooming in the air, I bought her a ticket and we got her harnessed too. The attendants said as long as she could climb up the ladder she could ride.

Here they are in their gear.

Here they are standing in line. Juliet thought I was taking a picture so she was saying "cheeez".

Here they are on the platform. Before getting on the platform Juliet had hesitated when they tried to hook her up to the line. Claudia tried to let her go first but with that little hesitation, Claudia climbed up the ladder. The attendant asked Juliet if she wanted to go up and if he could carry her. I asked if that was ok, and he said sure, before she changes her mind! I was fully expecting for her to want down once she got to the top; especially being held by strangers and I'm not sure she was aware of where Peter and I were. 

And here they are zooming down the line. weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! If I had flipped my phone the right way, it would have turned out better. You have to maximize to see anything, and then it gets fuzzy unfortunately. The girls had a blast and were ready to go again, but it was time to head back.