After all of this sight-seeing, I needed some mountains in my life. I also had one more national monument to see in the Sierra’s- Devil’s Postpile.
The drive from SLC to Mammoth Lakes takes you diagonally across Nevada. The biggest towns you pass through are Ely and Tonopah. The Clown Motel in Tonopah looks absolutely terrifying, and my mom said she saw it on an episode of Ghost Adventures.
It's hard to even describe the excitement I felt when the mountains started coming into view. The Sierra's have a very distinct shape to them... they're entirely different than the Wasatch or the Sawtooth or the Tetons. I think I was bordering on manic as I arrived in Mammoth Lakes. Part of that joy is that I've had some really good times in this area. I used to buy adventure books (like "Touching the Void") at this used bookstore in Mammoth Lakes, then spend all day reading at my favorite kick-it spot in the Merced River. I spent a month at Tuolumne Meadows one summer and shorter amounts of time during other summers. It's just one of my favorite places.
After all this traveling, I'm pretty sure I was still on Eastern time. So the next morning, I sprang out of bed at 4:30 a.m. with a grin on my face and a Lizzo song in my heart. ("I am free, yeah yeah, come water me, oh oh") The sun had just come up when I started my hike to Rainbow Falls at Devil's Postpile National Monument. I saw just one other person at the beginning of the hike and was grateful for the solitude. As I hiked, I was reflecting on how frustrating it is to be in pain and have to hike slowly. I was getting really down on myself. And at that moment, a group of high school cross country runners came thundering past me. I mean, their timing was just impeccable. Probably about 30 kids all together went flying by, making me feel even worse about myself.
And when I arrived at Rainbow Falls, they had all stopped there to stretch, taking up the whole viewing platform. But you know, that's just fine, because one of the coaches offered to take my picture.
On the return hike, I chatted with a nice man who seemed... interested. And the psychic in New Orleans said I would be meeting the love of my life VERY soon, maybe even on this trip! This man was a retired pilot who now volunteers at the Smithsonian. I have a knack for meeting retirees. Maybe that is how old I'll be when I finally get married.
The picture above is the Devil's Postpile, which is on the same trail as Rainbow Falls. Very cool geologic formation. But there is actually a spot that is just as interesting here in Utah that isn't even a protected area.
I actually have no idea where I took the above picture, but I included it because it shows the characteristic shape of the Sierras.
That afternoon, I drove a little ways into Yosemite and set up my hammock for the first time next to the Tuolumne River. It was the perfect temperature, there were no bugs, the pine trees smelled so good... I was totally blissed out.
I went for one more quick hike later that afternoon called Obsidian Dome. It's the center of an old volcano and it's all obsidian and other volcanic rock. It wasn't exactly pretty, but it was like being on another planet.
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