Mammoth Lakes, Ca

Being in Mammoth Lakes is like going outside for recess. Everyone is playing and the playground is large. Just behind the visitor's center is the New Shady Rest campground, a part of the Inyo National Forest, but in the middle of town. And a shady rest we did need. We did not get much rest but we did get done the laundry, email, shopping, groceries.
This is where Leon skied his first Black Diamond, Dave's Run, on Mammoth Mountain but that was winter and this is summer. We are still at 7,000 feet so August weather is delightful. The first day we missed the bear that wandered through our campground while we were washing clothes but we sure smelled him during the night.
In Mammoth Lakes you can bike, hike, ride dirt bikes, 4 wheel, fish, boat .. it seems endless. I bought a one day fishing license and first dried Hot Creek, one of the nation's top 10, which was teeming with fish rising to I know not what. I did manage to catch one. The stream is in the open in meadows near the fish hatchery. Nearby hot water bubbles up from beneath the surface in an area where a tremendous volcano once spewed ash as far as Nebraska. You can no longer swim in the creek there so we had a picnic.
Then we took the backroads to Owens Creek, a beautiful stream meandering through the meadows. I honed my fishing skills a little and again caught my limit but a much larger fish. We spent the rest of the day exploring Old Mammoth Road and Mary's Lake Road. We hiked to an old stamp mill and stopped by what was once a mining town called Mammoth City. The Lake Mary Road was a scenic drive through the forest that took us to many high mountain lakes. The view of Twin Lakes from the top of the waterfall was breath taking.
Day three was dedicated to the Devil's Postpile. We took the shuttle and rode through the forest to the trailhead for Rainbow Falls. After a 1.3 mile hike downhill we came to an overlook with a fantastic view of the falls that are created by the middle fork of the San Joaquin River. The mist at the edge of the falls creates a rainbow effect. The hike seemed like 3 miles back. We then shuttled over to the National Monument portion of the park and hiked to the 60 foot tall columns of basalt that give the area it's name. We climbed the trail to the top where the glacial action had polished the rock and it looked like octagonal stone laid flooring. After five hours and about 4 miles of hiking we caught the shuttle back to the top. It was amazing to watch the driver maneuver hairpin turns on single lane roads with steep cliffs on one side. We would have to stop for oncoming cars to hug the mountain and manage to pass us.
Recess was over and we headed north towards Tahoe.
We stopped at Mono Inn on the shore of Mono Lake for a delicious dinner. Ansel Adams used to stop here to eat and his grandaughter now owns the restaurant. We tried some Fess Parker (Davy Crockett) wine since we didn't stop at his winery when we were in the Solvang area.
We stopped north of Bridgeport at Chris Flat campground in the Toiyabe National Forest, a nice little spot on the West Walker River, and quiet even though it is on highway 395. People appear to be camping all along highway 395 at fshing pullouts beside the river. More photos.