Mammoth Lakes - a Coach and a Valley

Las Vegas to Mammoth Lakes

Yesterday I went from being a friend staying at a friend's place to being a tourist. And today, I become the thing that when you see the road you look at with pity and avoid and when you are one, you really enjoy being part of a team and being looked after - the coach tourist...

This is a nice touch...

Neither alarm went off so it's a good thing I rise early naturally. I had been told to have the bags ready for collection at 6:40 and, in a sign that bodes well for the organisation of this trip, at 6:40 there's a tap at the door and the bellhop is here to collect. 

I nip downstairs for a breakfast bagel and coffee and I'm sure half these people here are on the tour. The tour started a week ago, in LA, I think. There's a few people joining today (this was the way it was in the brochure at home) and some are leaving after San Francisco, according to Joan yesterday. So there will be no problem with me leaving the tour in LA, as planned.

Down and into the bus. We have seat allocations so everyone gets a go at the 'good' sets. Joan had told me this last night and as I approached the bus, I'm just hoping I'm sitting by myself and they're not trying to make us 'make friends'. But it's all okay, seat to myself and we're off - the Californian leg has begun.

I do need to correct myself here - at Spring Mountain, I said the Jonah tree and it is, of course, the Joshua tree. Leigh did correct me but I forgot to write it down. And I just saw one and remembered...

We drive out of Las Vegas and out to the desert. Apparently Area 51 is out there somewhere. Lots of nuclear testing - before they realised it wasn't so good and put it underground. And people used to come out to take photos of the mushroom clouds... 

Brief stop at a supermarket so we can buy stuff for lunch. I get a salad and these...

Reece's peanut butter cups. I have two and that's enough.

Interesting points...

- Las Vegas was founded by Mormons and when the gambling came in, they all left. Except for the ones who formed the Signature theatre company that Leigh works with.

- Death Valley is the only national park where Indians still live

- Joan called them Indians, not Native Americans.

- Death Valley is called that because a group went exploring, got a couple of days in and discovered that there was no water, no shade and no food. A few young 'uns went to look for help and by the time they got back, the others had died. As they were leaving, one of them called out, "Goodbye, valley of death".

- all the Reece's cups are now gone. (It's 11:30).

- Death Valley goes up to 3,000 feet and then it drops to below sea level.

- Borax was mined here and was carried out by twenty-mule teams

- There are no service stations so you need to carry gas and have a good car.

- Coyotes are pretty much the largest animal that can survive out here. The rest are smaller mammals, snakes, etc.

We pass the Amargosa Opera House - which is such a random thing to be here in the middle of the desert. Apparently the woman, Marta Becket, lived and performed in New York but suffered from arthritis-type symptoms. Doctors recommended that she come out to get the desert heat and air and she liked Death Valley the best. She still wanted to dance to exercise so she got a property, tarted it up, painted an audience to watch her dance. Then people started to come by and actually watch and it ended up as a performance venue for her. So she would come here in the winter and fall and go back to New York in the summer.

This is a sort of photo of the sign welcoming us to Death Valley. You can sort of make it out. I made my way up a bumpy bus to sit at the front to get this photo so it's going in.

We have a photo op stop at Zabriskie's Point and it's pretty spectacular. Here's Death Valley in all its glory...

Then we're off to the next pit stop - Furnace Creek Ranch. Here they have a museum showing how the borax was mined, a post office and a general store. Apparently this place gets packed when they reenact the settlement of the town. You can stay here too.

I have been chatting to some of the people on the bus. There's lots of countries represented - there's a few Aussies, a Kiwi, some Swiss, Danes, Irish and English.

And I think I may be a snob but I do not understand people who go to see a show, actually buy the t-shirt, (this one says 'The Rat Pack are back') and then the next morning - both of them wear it so they're matching. Not only are they wearing a souvenir t-shirt but they decided to both wear it at the same time!! (Apologies if anyone does this. I just personally don't like it.)

We pass through a town called Panamint Springs, that used to have a water supply (anything with 'springs' in the name had water at some point. It's classified as 'old' so they can't change or redo or pull down and rebuild anything. There's a pub and that's it - quite a few people on the balcony here. And petrol is about three times the average price, to get it to the town.

 

We just had another photo op stop. When I was getting on the bus, someone was getting off so I stepped into someone's seat, noticed they had cold air blowing in - straight back to my seat to work out how to do that! Cold air - excellent.

The stop was Crawley's Point.

At some point we passed the border into California but there is no big sign cos people kept pinching it. And the Joshua trees were named by the Mormons who thought they looked like Joshua from the bible, with his arms outstretched.

The last stop was Lone Pine and it was really beautiful with Mount Whitney in the background. This is one of the tallest mountains in America.

In the visitors centre they have a model of the area that shows where everything is. You could go and work out your travel plans with the rangers there (as a couple was doing).

Really beautiful spot.

As we drove out of the visitors centre, there is a whole little township here. Very cute too. It relies on tourism and movie making for survival.

Heading right up the mountains now. The terrain is vastly different again - lots more trees, and foliage. We stop briefly at a earthquake fissure - very deep and very interesting.

Up to Mammoth Inn Lodge and it's lovely. Here is the arrival of a tour bus...

..nice lodge though.

Into my room and the last person in. Had left the heater on high - so it's like a sauna! Hideous!! Have to open the door to cool it down. It goes well with the cold coffee from the cafe. .the window is still open now cos I shut it and started sweating. This is the view from my room though.

Went out for a bit of a look around walk.

Then  into dinner with Chuck and Kerry, who invited me to join them. And of course, they are Rat Pack t-shirt culprits and are lovely! They're from Perth. Had a delicious vegetable curry pie.