Happy Day after Valentine's Day

For all of you in a couple or not... Happy Day after Saint Valentine's Day, and hope you had a Happy V Day and got some outside time, and some wine and chocolate time.   And a day late you may say... but love is love no matter what day. Am I right?

Photo from Daily Bike Blog/Madison Magazine

“Love is the irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.” - Robert Frost

Eastside Blogs

Here's some great new posts from some of the Eastside's best:

• Christian Pondella's Spray On Ice
• Dave McCoy himself Travels Along The Eastern Sierras and Tahoe

And oh man, Simon Rex was/is in Mammoth and guess who else? Gwen and Gavin.  Although I don't know who Lady GaGa is, I at least want to have someone famous (and nice) come into my work this week just for S & Giggles.  Why not, right?




Photos Property of Christian Pondella

A Day at the Beach

Mary, Steven, and I decided to get out of Mammoth and head South to Bishop.  Bishop is the land of bouldering, rock climbing bums, and a working-class Westerny (sorta) town. They actually have sidewalks on Main Street and the side streets in Bishop! Wow!

After perusing 'Cobwebs' the antique store in an old jail, the Mammoth Mountaineering Supply Gear Exchange, the used book store, and so on... we decided it was time to head to the Happy's- a local and well-known bouldering spot. They actually have a Ren and Stimpy shirt that says, 'Happy Happy Joy Joy' in memory of this spot.

I'd never been there before, so we followed Rosa and Jimi and after the paved road turned to dirt washboards, we arrived.  The parking lot was pretty full, and mostly of cars from other states. A handfull from CA and NV, one from British Columbia (my dream place to go), and so on. I was the only New Englander.

And here's our day at the beach... errr I mean bouldering in 70 degree weather. We were wearing down jackets once back home in Mammoth. There were so many boulders, I didn't get shots of everyone, but all had a great time in the Happy's!

I'm a tree

Oh Weekends

We had a great Sugar on Snow party for Jill's Birthday the other night. Those new to maple syrup on snow and it's deliciousness were all enthralled.... and we all had a sugar coma after! Happy Birthday Jill!

Today I skied with my Disabled Sports dude at Tamarack. He kept trucking along.

DSES ski time with my buddy

Grill time?

As you may recall, the Snowpowcolypse brought Mammoth Lakes 15+ feet of snow.  Well, it hasn't snowed much since and the temps are high. In December I couldn't see my grill. Then snow has been melting in town, and someone shoveled the grill out.

Where's the freshies? In the meantime... maybe I'll actually eat some nice grass-fed beef. I've also realized I'm a health food store snob. I want my Hunger Mt. Coop back! But we have a health food store in Mammoth. Yay. 

Also, sometimes I miss the sock room's organization at ORS.  Scary? Maybe not.  

Cheers!

Let's put another shrimp on the barbi

Vermonty Times Had on the Eastside

At least I still am on the Eastside of something. The Eastside of the Sierras is a great place. There's at least 3 publications about it... Eastside Magazine, Eastern Sierra something... there's more, but I'm typing this in my car and my feet are cold. Wi-fi at home soon? A luxury or a necessity? Necessity when applying to grad school.  That aside. Let me ramble.

My roomate, Don, is gone to Peru (hope you're having fun!!!) and I decided why not finally host a couchsurfer.  Couchsurfing.com is a great resource. You just have to have a sense of adventure and trust. Both of which I seem to have a majority of the time.

Well, let me tell you as fate would have it, I was contacted by someone who grew up about 60 miles north of me in Vermont.  Right now he's stone's throw away in summer on the other side of Yosemite in El Portal doing outdoor education.  A career I dabble in from time to time.  In winter Tioga Pass is closed, so he's 8 hours away.

We haven't had the best snow after the Snowpowcolypse of 15+ feet of snow- but it doesn't mean there isn't any skiing. It just means you have to wait for the snow to corn up. There's not much avalanche danger at the moment either.

Let's just say I couldn't have had a better time skiing and talking about CA and VT.  It made me a little homesick, but it also made me realize HOW MUCH stuff is out there that I still have to do and see.

New Year's Eve-ski

Us hearty New Englanders (and those not- sorry NY doesn't count, and neither does CA)  skied from Main Lodge to the Mineret Vista. Here are the photos.

Where is the Vista Booth?