Roughing it. I just noticed that, in this set of blogposts re: Our Big Trip, I've managed to stretch out the description of one afternoon (August 22nd) for almost two months. And still not done! It inspires the thought: maybe from now on, the posts should cover ever-shorter moments of time, becoming Zeno's Blog Trip to Mammoth Hot Springs.

Or not.

Anyway, leaving the hot springs behind, we drove northward as the sun dropped to the horizon, past recovering forests and meadows, with the occasional geyser or hot spring thrown in. I seem to remember actual wildlife along this stretch as well, a few elk strategically placed along the road. In twilight, we crossed the open meadow of Gardner's Hole, passed between two mountains, and unexpectedly (because we hadn't bothered to look at the map) began the long and rapid descent down Golden Gate Canyon.

By the time we passed the mammoth hot springs that give Mammoth Hot Springs its name, it was pretty dark, and there was little to see. At the bottom of the descent, there was the Park Service town of Mammoth, dominated by the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. We were to stay in a cabin; our experience in Yosemite with the Curry Village tent cabins had made us a bit gun-shy. Checked in, we took our little map of the cabins and drove down the road, until we found ours; a sturdy wooden thing, painted white, with big double-hung screened windows, decent beds with decent sheets, an overhead fan, a clothes closet, a sink with running hot and cold water, towels, and bear-shaped soap.

The baths were down a little ways, but well-kept. And the best thing of all, it wasn't crowded, and the people there were quiet. It felt like a little Chautauqua village; Curry felt like a Civil War army camp inhabited by noisy slobs.

We settled in, but needed food; after all, we hadn't eaten since Jackson (Feb. 18). We walked in the cool evening up to the big dining hall, staffed by a set of exotic Xanterra youths, kindred to those that catered to us in Bryce; but the restaurant was too crowded, and pretty expensive. Instead, we slipped into the bar, and got the very nice bartender man to serve us a pile of appetizers and local microbrewed beer in lieu of dinner. It was good, very good indeed.

[All trip entries]

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Posted by David Fleck at 14 April 2007 05:10 PM