Midgins'

Saturday 3rd October 2015

Having arrived late the night before we were completely unaware of what our surroundings looked like, so opening the curtains for the first time on Saturday morning was a very pleasant surprise. We stayed at the Mammoth Mountain Inn which is a beautiful ski resort nestled in the mountains, just a short drive from Mammoth Lakes village. Visiting out of ski season made the accommodation more affordable and much quieter. We would absolutely love to go back again for a ski holiday and really make the most of the resort (and see those beautiful mountains in the snow!) but even as a simple place to stay while we were exploring this neck of the woods, it really was the perfect spot.

We had a fairly chilled out day in Mammoth Lakes and didn’t make any real plans. It was the perfect place to just slow right down and relax. We ventured into the picturesque village and popped into various cafes and bakeries for delicious treats.

After a few hours in the village we decided to head back to the hotel and fully relax for the rest of the day. We made the most of the outdoor hot tub, surrounded by breathtaking scenery with no one else in sight. It was almost too good to be true!

~

Sunday 4th October 2015

The next morning we woke up to torrential rain (the only day of bad weather for the entire trip!) and it was the one day we really didn’t want the weather to turn. Due to such severe weather, highway 120 was closed for safety reasons. Unfortunately for us, and many other travellers, it was the main route from Mammoth Lakes to Yosemite which was our next destination. We ended up taking a massive detour which meant what should have been about a 90 minute journey actually turned into a 6 hour drive..

We were pretty frustrated at first but armed with plenty of tasty snacks and music, we decided to suck it up and enjoy the ride. The sun eventually appeared and it turned out to be a beautiful adventure with tonnes of photo opportunities along the way.

California, you are so damn pretty.

I’m going to end by mentioning Ben Brown’s video Epic Roadtrip: Surf and Snow in California because I just watched it and now I want to go back even more. The footage is pretty incredible. Watch it and you’ll see what I mean.

Up next: Yosemite National Park.