Aug 11th: Mammoth Lakes (Rainbow Falls)

88 miles driven, 87 photographs taken, 2 Americano Grandes drunk, 0 Starbucks City Mugs acquired

Accomodation: Vagabond Inn, Bishop (Good value, second night)

Picture: Rainbow Falls. It took around twenty shots with different shutter speeds and exposures to get the right effect of movement but hopefully it worked. The light was excellent throughout the day and the mixture of forest, water and rock provided good texture and contrast. After a day in Death Valley, water seemed the most significant aspect of the day hence the choice of photograph. The surroundings however were blackened pines from a fire in 1992.

Our original idea was to stop for a night between Death Valley and Yosemite Valley. However attempts to find a hotel on line for the Saturday night failed so we decided to stay on the eastern side of the High Sierra for an extra day and headed up to Mammoth Lakes for a walk. By the time we got there it was time for an early lunch and a packed car park and queue indicated that The Stove was probably worth checking out. This proved an inspired choice and I can strongly recommend it. Suitably fueled, and this time with plenty of water, we took the Park Bus down to the Devil’s Postpile and then walked through the Rainbow Falls. It was a delight, and both the train map, and the views indicated that it would be easy to spend a week or more here. There was some drama on the return with a pregnant woman requiring a National Park rescue team, but she looked to have been stabilised as they carefully transported her on a stretcher supported by a single ball wheel.

We finished the day at the local cinema and picked up the Bourne Ultimatum, third in the series and possibly the best. Tomorrow we are indulging ourselves with two nights of four star luxury at the Tenaya Lodge, before two nights each in Monterey and San Francisco (reversed order to pick up the Wales-Argentina match on satellite) and thence Los Angeles and home.