Alpenhof Lodge Mammoth Lakes

... from L.A. has therefore left the tufa above the water level which is what can be seen in the pictures. It really does look like the moon, not that we know in any great detail but other visitors shared our views too as we heard some American chaps saying 'Moooooooon' I wanted to join in for you Steve and do the whole hand movement with Carl Cox on my nail but figured they wouldn't know what I was on about.<br ...

... It kind of reminds me of Switzerland.... lake, mountains, snow! It's an area for relaxing and it seems like most people come here for fishing!<br><br>We quickly set up our tent and sorted out our stuff, then got in the car again to do some walking. We visited the Panum Crater, which is one of the youngest "mountains" in the US. Basically, there are a bunch of craters here, which are active volcanos. Therefore, the &#8220;mountains&#8221; get ...

... we decided to not stay here for the night and to push on to find a more friendly place 'just down the road'. It turned out that Tanopah was really in the middle of nowhere and 'just down the road' took us on another 140 miles and 3 hours of driving. <br><br>Finally we pushed onto the west and finally arrived in Lee Vining, just east of Yosemite on the edge of Lake Mono where we tried to find an RV park but couldn't set up because ...

... to feel Santa Barbara's essence. In central Europe, blue cloudless sky is something we don't see that much at this time of year, so Santa Barbara's climate made me feel simply wonderful and revitalized me for the rest of the year. As far as flora goes, I was surprised to learn this region produces the most orchids in the United States. The city also boasts a variety of fauna. In fact, the Santa Barbara Channel is one of the country's richest sources ...

... the time of year I was visitng the area, there no was water coming over the falls so I was a little bit disappointed.<br><br>By the time I got to Mammoth Lakes it was starting to get dark so I found a hotel and went to a nearby bar for some pizza and beer. I made a slight mistake ordering my first beer as they ended up bringing me a massive jug of beer and it cost me $16! By the time I had a couple more regular sized beers I was pretty full so I just went back to my hotel room.

... We hadn't planned to stay any great length of time in Bakersfield, but Jeff and Linda are like family and we really enjoy being together. They asked us to stay for as long as we could and that we could even help them with their business, too. While we were there, just after Father's Day, Carlos, Tracy, Bella and Savannah, too, stopped by the Bakersfield shop for a quick ...

... the funnest things to do... i did fall in love with that place. 9. Vegas is crazy! would you believe it is possible to stay in vegas and not gamble? sacralige maybe but i did! didn´t touch a machine once. only one of us did out of four! 10. the US is a magical place... and is just FULL of people, all walks of life, all kinds of people. they both fit the stereotype and expel it all at once. A great place to visit but not the best to live i don´t think. xxx

As if I dont have enough travel coming up, Rinny talked me into heading up to Mammoth for the 3 day weekend. The idea of going to a ski resort on a 3 day weekend sounded actually pretty horrible. But once again, as always happens, we had a fantastic time, and i am so glad i went. From what i can remember, this is what happened: Friday January 18th Rinny picked Thundy and I up from work at about 5:20. we knew the ride would be pretty long as it took us about 45 ...

... its way up and over a mountain pass for 10 miles. Then you drive 80mph for another hour before slowing up to cross more mountains. You repeat this about 5 times. The Nevada Commission on Tourism has a Lonliest Road Survival Kit. They give you a passport that you need to get stamped in each of the towns along the Loneliest Road. Then when you've finished you send it in and they mail you a certificate congratulating you for surviving the Lonliest Road. We picked up ...