Last few days in Mammoth

We spent 2 weeks up here the first week of August, went home for a week and then came back up last Tuesday and stayed until Sunday.  We woke up Sunday morning to snow on the ground and covering the car...burrr.  We were so lucky to have 3 weeks in this magical place, it's been amazing.  Our friends E and K and their daughter K came up with us last week and we  relaxed, hiked, playing games, ate great food, drank great wine and hung out.  It's been so much fun.

We took them on a beautiful hike at Rock Creek.  It's about 6 miles round trip.  Beautiful scenery, lake after lake after lake.  We took an amazing picnic lunch and relaxed by one of the lakes for a bit before heading back.  Perfect day.

Rock Creek 

The day before we left we went to Rainbow Falls/Reds Meadow.  We stopped to see the falls, which are stunning.  We also saw Devils Postpile.  Which was amazing.

Rainbow Falls

Devils Postpile Monument

We are back in LA now and back to work.  We are teaching 2 more weeks of summer camps and then start fall classes on the 7th.  We had an amazing month off, with wonderful memories of Mammoth.

The Watermelon Radish

Do you know what a Watermelon Radish is?  I didn't, until a month ago.

K holding a watermelon radish from the garden

Our best friends E and K have a daugther, an amazing daugher, she's 10 (almost 11).   K has been taking art classes at the studio for 4 years.  K is an unusual kid for 10, as she will try any food.  She may not like it, but she'll try it.  She's eaten things most kids would never eat.  She talks about burratta like it's ice cream,  most 10 year olds don't even know what burratta is.  We got to talking one night at dinner and I told her that she should start a blog.  A blog about food.  A blog from a 10 year olds point of view.  So the watermelon radish was born.  I'm very proud of her, blogging isn't easy, especially if you are 10.  But, she has so much food experience to share with others that she just has to write about it.  Maybe she can get other kids to try new foods.

So check out the Watermelon Radish and comment on her posts (she'd loved that).

Back on the Rocks

me bouldering in mammoth

When I met Bruce 15 years ago it was through rock climbing.  I was a beginner and he was an instructor.  He had been climbing for years when I met him. It was his passion, or should I say obsession.  We climbed for years together in California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and on the island of Mallorica.  For 7 years this was what we did, every weekend, all time.  We mostly sport-climbed.  Then I injured my arm, climbing of course.  I had to take time off, which ended up being 8 years.  I started doing other things like triathlons and then once I quit Bruce & I decided to try another sport - surfing.  We surfed for a few years in California, Hawaii and then Costa Rica.  It was fun, but super scary for me.

Then we move to cycling and that's been our passion for the last 5 years.  But now that we have decided we'll be moving back to France and the village where we will be living (St. Antonin Noble Val) is surrounded by amazing limestone cliffs with superb climbing, we decided to start up again.  There is also the Verdon Gorge in Provence, Fontainebleau just south of Paris for incredible bouldering and tons of place in Spain for sport climbing.

Last weekend when we were in Mammoth Bruce bought a new pair of climbing shoes and I rented a pair and we went out bouldering.  Bouldering is where you climb without a rope.  It's not free-soloing which is where you climb long routes without ropes (no thank you) it's short moves on a rock/boulder that's maybe 10 feet high at the most.  Super fun.  We were hooked, again.  I had to laugh because when we climbed 8 years ago, Bruce was an amazing climber, very talented and devoted.  I was the girlfriend, so I went where he wanted to climb as he was working on very hard routes.  I never got to be a beginner, I ended up climbing or trying to climb routes that were really hard.  But now we are both starting over, it's to my benefit that he's taken 7 years off.

Bruce climbing at the Happy Boulders just outside of Bishop

Yesterday we went into Rockreation, which is an inside climbing gym in Los Angeles.  Bruce worked there for many years as an instructor and course setter.  We haven't been in the gym in years but our good friend Blane who manages the place gave us passes to come in whenever we wanted.  So yesterday we spent a few hours bouldering at the gym.  Today I'm very sore.  I bought a pair of climbing shoes too and a chalk bag and we are now ready to go!  We are going back to Mammoth tomorrow for a week, so I'm sure we'll be back on the rock a few more times.

It's fun to be back climbing.  So much of our past revolved around climbing and getting away from the chaos of the city.  There is so much climbing where we are moving it would be a crime not to touch the rock and only look at it with amazement and awe.