Come on, Who Doesn't Need a Shotgun Wedding?

Just a quick update for the loyal blog readers... Hopefully this is the final chapter in the saga of my stupid foot. This past weekend Jon and I went to Vegas. We managed to a. not get drunk and married by a fat Elvis, b. gamble away our life savings, and c. buy anything that says "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" on it. We thought it was pretty successful. Oh, and I got my foot cut open. Apparently the ligaments were not tightening on their own, so those had to get fixed, there were bone spurs that were somewhat troublesome that got removed, and some nasty scar tissue was done away with. This has about a 70% chance of leading to a fully successful ski season. As I was working with 0% before, I'm counting this as a win. As this trip to Vegas was focused on wellness, maybe next time we'll look into those other options.

When I grow up I want to be a...

Strangely, when I was in San Francisco this week, I stopped at a random museum on one of the Piers in Fisherman's Wharf. A friend told me that I had to see it. Well, do you all remember the weird carnival fortune teller from the movie Big? Creepy. This museum was full of such gems. My favorite, however, was the "Career Pilot". As someone who has more career ADD than anyone I know, I found this fitting. I go through this about once a month: What should I do when I grow up? Rapidly approaching 30, I often feel that I should be grown up already. Perhaps its a function of my chosen line of work... the move around to move up culture. I was sure I'd just hang out in Mammoth for a while. But as I am nearing the close of my second summer here, I'm getting the itch to move on to a new adventure in a new place. Perhaps it will subside. Perhaps not. I wish it was all as clear as this game in which you load your quarters, spin a wheel, and you too could be a Love Pirate or an Adagio Dancer. To all those Adagio Dancers and Fish Peddlers out there, cheers! Way to follow your dreams!

A Darn Funny Story and Some Darn Good Views

Sunset from Donohue Pass along the John Muir Trail.

So a couple weeks ago Clay and I decided to visit Yosemite. Walking distance about 32 miles. Driving distance 60 miles. We opted for the walking option. It was an adventure filled weekend. At one point I really thought the mosquitoes were going to pick me up and carry me out. We waited out a pretty nasty hailstorm in our little 32 ounce tent. It held up amazingly well. We walked back into civilization at Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite around 1:30 in the afternoon and realized we had about a five hour wait until the bus came through to take us back to Mammoth. So we decided to try and hitch a ride back home. I'm not going to lie you always feel a little bit like a dirtbag sitting on your backpack on the side of the road with your thumb out. I was glad though that we were under the safety of the "National Park Safety Bubble." This is California after all. We hadn't sat there ten minutes before an oddly familiar gold Lexus pulled over. Before the driver even got out of the car I knew who it was. As the Superintendent of Devils Postpile got out of the driver seat and started moving stuff around in her car for the dirties on the side of the road I was already laughing out loud. That's right our Superintendent picked us up. For those of you who don't have a superintendent it would kind of be like the CEO or President of your company picking you up off the side of the road when you had just hiked for a couple days and are covered in alternating layers of sunscreen and bug spray. Super. I realize the odds of this happening are slim to none. Which is why it is such a darn funny story. As we exited through the fee station at Yosemite we confused the crap out of the ranger in the booth when we all said we work for Devils Postpile National Monument. He responded with, "Oh you work for the Forest Service?" Oh the plight of being a little 800 acre monument. Ehh, we are loving life here. When your Superintendent is picking you up off the side of the road you know you are in a good place :) Previously mentioned hitchhiking.
View from Donohue Pass.
Thousand Island Lake.

Southeast Glacier Mt. Ritter.

Summit of Mt. Ritter.
Ritter Lakes from summit.

Minarets from Iceburg Lake.
Cecile Lake.

A Box of Joy

Did you guys ever see that Scrubs episode where JD and Turk get two prizes out of the same cereal box and it was the best day of their lives? Well, we had a similar moment last night at the Octagon. Aimee was pouring a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch after a long mountain bike ride and lo and behold, out of the box flops a plastic bag encased thing right in the Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Of course we had no idea what this treasure actually was until we opened the bag. Now, to set this up, we had already this week discussed that Sid the Sloth was Aimee's favorite Ice Age character. (Yes, we are all rapidly approaching 30). The cereal treasure was, as if willed by fate, a Sid the Sloth pencil topper. We will now come up with excuses to use pencils for at least the next day or two. It's good to know there is still joy to be found in cereal boxes.