Days off in Mammoth

I came down the trail to Horseshoe Lake and it was a nice, super easy walk out. There was a trolley bus waiting at the trailhead. The trolley towed a bike trailer for all the mountain bikes.

Mammoth Lakes is a groovy town. Mostly it’s a bunch of condos with some other stuff in between. Hikers and bikers in the summer, skiers in the winter. And festivals – plenty of festies to bring in tourists. The Blues and Brews festival was in full swing when I showed up. Lots of stumblers in Mardi Gras beads with beer steins on necklaces. 

I stayed at the Davison Guest House, which is a great deal for this town. Even Motel 6 is over $100 a night. The owners’ son and his family happened to be visiting, so I got some background info. His parents bought the hostel decades ago and ran it as a side hobby / community service. Advertising was never much of a priority. Although the owner did once run an ad on the local radio station to inform the community that the hostel was not the same place as the halfway house down the street. 

I ate burritos and took showers and slugged around for a few days. Why is it harder to sleep in a bed than my tent? That just isn’t fair. I rode around on the free shuttle and talked to people. I bought a raffle ticket for an adorable monster quilt at the public library. Fingers crossed!