4th of July Weekend

For the 4th of July we decided to get out of Ridgecrest (106 degree weather all weekend) and go North. We drove up to Mammoth Lakes to go camping. Camping in CA is a learning experience because 1. There is pretty much no such thing as getting away from other people (its like camping the Little Walnut Picnic Grounds, but more populated), 2. It costs as much as a cheap hotel for a camping spot, 3. Even in the places that say they don't take reservations, many of the spots are reserved, 4. Watch for bears - there were at least 3 chased away from the area we were in - we never saw one, 5. BIC lighters suck (I don't think that applies only to CA), 6. ...I'll think of more.

We left late on Thursday, so late in fact that we only made it to about Big Pine the first night and slept in the truck on the side of the road. Its probably a good thing since it took us a few hours to find a camping spot the next day.
After we found a spot, set up the tent, and offloaded all our food into the bear box we headed back into town to look around. We went to the Village at Mammoth. Lots of shops and restaurants and such. We decided that the next time we are up there we might try the bike park since we wont have the scheduled events. We ate lunch right there, went back to our camp site to catch up on sleep for a while and then headed back to the Village for a fireworks show, it was small, but what do you expect in the middle of town off the roof of a building.
On the fourth we went to the parade, which I found out Angela has never done before :o, and then to the park to watch some of a concert that one of our friends was playing in. After that we went back to camp for a while and then on a drive around the lake that we were camped at. [The fireworks were shot off the first peninsula]
That night we went down to Lake Crowley for a fireworks show, it was the best that I have seen in a while, it lasted about twenty minutes. Then we met up with some of our friends and went back to the campground and had s'mores and roasted marshmallows.
The next morning we packed up and headed north to drive a loop that Angela wanted to see around June Lake. We stopped and had a really good breakfast along the way.

And now from a Cuteness point of view:

dadadaaaaa!!

First off, I would like to say that I was not allowed to proofread any of what Shane wrote. ;)

We spent about 4 hours trying to finish packing for our trip to Mammoth Lakes. First we didn't have food, second we didn't have a mattress to fit in our truck bed, and third, we couldn't decide whether to leave right then or not.

We got on the road at about 10pm, wide-eyed and wide awake. At about 10:30pm we both started getting sleepy, but we didn't stop until we reached Independence. After debating on whether we should pay $20 to stay overnight at a campground, we opted for a cozy spot on the side of the road. When I awoke at 5:00am, I realized that we were parked in a residential area. After I quietly tried to open the truck door to get water from our truck bed, the alarm went off and woke Shane. So, I decided we should head out.

We arrived at Mammoth Lakes at 6pm and proceeded to look for campsites for a few hours. Finally we found a spot near Lake Mary and settled into our spot. Instead of using our truck tent, we decided to use our regular tent since we used our truck bed so much.

After several trips to Von's, we finally settled in and make a trip out to the Village. The shops were gorgeous and the mountain air was so refreshing. The first night we decided to try to make hamburgers. Our charcoal wouldn't stay lit, so we burned as many papertowels and make do with what we had. Our neighbors even offered to let us borrow their grill, but we decided we'd rather "rough" it.

The fireworks in town were beautiful, but not quite as nice as those over Crowley Lake. I had a good time saying "awww" at every dog that walked by. We woke up the next morning, enjoyed toasted poptarts (well, at least I enjoyed them) and then headed out to town. We attended the parade right off of Meridian St. Thank goodness we had our umbrella otherwise we would have been severely sunburned and drenched. Again, there were really cute dogs left and right, so hopefully Shane added a few photos.After exploring the area, and yet another trip to Von's, we tried to make burgers again. This time, our firewood would not catch on fire due to the wind. Thirty minutes later, we enjoyed nice burgers and then headed out to Crowley Lake. I had never been to such a beautiful fireworks show. We were so close I had to hold my ears. After taking our turn in traffic, we headed back to our campsite and had s'mores with friends. The whole time we were worried about bears, but enjoyed our time nonetheless.

After a restful night, we woke up, packed up our tent, and headed to June Lake Loop. We weren't sure where to eat breakfast, but managed to find a place called the Double Eagle Restaurant and Spa. The food was phenomenal (I know Shane is laughing at me for using that word). We headed out and met a few people on our scenic tour of June Lake. Shane made fun of me for taking pictures of dogs playing in the water. I guess it made me want our own dog even more.After we rounded the loop, we headed back to Ridgecrest, but not before stopping to see Owen's Gorge. Unfortunately, we could not find the right area to be, so we decided to head back. We had ice cream in Lone Pine and I drove the last leg to Ridgecrest.

It was a great first camping trip full of bears, trips to Von's, and lots and lots of hamburgers. I can't wait to do it again.