Rain & Rainbows

Sorry I've been missing in action! I'm back though!

It's been raining like crazy here over the past week! Being in the "burn area" it's been extra fun. Friends of ours are evacuated yet again. This time due to mudslide danger instead of fire danger. Doug's school was closed today in order to keep roads clear for emergency personnel. Yes, these SoCal kids got a rain day instead of a snow day!

The weather has been the strangest I've ever seen. Rain in SoCal usually means a little drizzle, but this week the sky has opened up and sent waterfalls of water down upon us. There has been hail and lightning. And did I mention a few tornadoes? It's been crazy.

We did get a little break yesterday, as well as a beautiful double rainbow! It was extremely bright! Just gorgeous...





Rain
Rain
Go Away
Come Again Some Other Day!

Vacation: Mammoth Part 2

We left my Uncle's place with just enough time to grab lunch in Bishop (45 minutes away). Before we left Bishop we thought we'd stop by the Laws Museum. Even though we had driven through Bishop many times over the years, we never took the little side road over the the museum. It's a cute set up where they took old buildings from all over Bishop and put them together in one location. There is the old post office as well as the train depot and the old school. All of the buildings are stuffed full of things from years past.



I loved the building with all the old cameras!









This siamese sheep grossed us all out. It's got a head on each side!









My mom loved telling us about how she used this machine when she was first a programmer.







They had a whole area that full of rusting old cars and equipment. I loved it!









They even had a fake mine set up. So funny.



For my photography friends:
This one was taken at f/7.1



And this one was taken at f/1.7

















Hi Dad!



After our trip to the museum we got back on the highway and drove until we got to Red Rock Canyon, our traditional "rest stop". Ever since I was little my family would stop here on our way to or from Mammoth to let my sister and I stretch our legs. To this day I still love running around on all the red rock!



The puppy was happy to get to run around finally!









I took the chance to get to play with my macro lens. LOVE IT :)

Vacation: Mammoth

Happy New Year!

The week before Christmas my family headed up to Mammoth to visit my uncle. He lives in a small town about 20 minutes away from Downtown Mammoth called Crowley Lake. It's a cute little town with log cabins, streams, and this time of year... SNOW! As a born and raised Southern Californian, it's always a treat when we get to visit the snow.

The view from the highway on the way up the hill is spectacular. From the viewpoint you can see the entire Owen's Valley.

My Uncle's cabin covered in snow!



The snow looked so cool in the places where it hadn't been touched.









Sandy wasn't sure how she felt about the snow...



She didn't like the sinking sensation so she'd hang out right next to the house.



Or she'd jump up on Doug to try and get out of it.







My crazy husband decided to hike up to my Uncle's deck he made high up on the hill behind his house. On 4th of July we climbed up there to see the fireworks over the lake.



He convinced Sandy and I to go with him (after he made the path) so we could make snow angels on the deck. Sandy suddenly didn't mind the snow!



My snow angel!



"Can we go back now?"







Sandy got tired of standing in the snow, so she climbed up on Doug.



The view from the deck was amazing! The entire town looked like a little toy village covered in snow.



Later that night it started snowing! Like to SoCal girl I am I tried catching the flakes on my tongue. Most ended up in my eyes instead...



The next morning the whole town was covered in about 6 inches of new snow! And the views were amazing.



The railing on the bridge had nothing on it the day before!



And I didn't sink in at all in the walkway the day before either.



I loved how the snow gathered on all the branches!



Left: The day we arrived Right: The morning after it snowed





Since the day looked so pretty we decided to head into the city for the day. We don't ski or snowboard, but we love outlet shopping! And they have the only Pita Pit around (sooo yummy!).

Once we got about 10 minutes up the road, the weather changed. The wind started blowing and it started snowing. We were determined to get into town though!

Doug wanted his picture taken at the Geothermal Power Plant on the way to Mammoth.
I love the sign... "Danger: Hot Geothermal Fluid"



After lunch we drove up to Twin Lakes. Over 4th of July weekend we had gone kayaking in the lakes. What a different view during the winter! The waterfall is frozen and the whole lake is white. And it's super windy!





The sky finally cleared once we decided to head home. The sunset was really pretty!



We had our chains on!



I loved the view out the front of the car...



Come back tomorrow for our trip back home!