{"id":2188,"date":"2020-01-13T08:24:25","date_gmt":"2020-01-12T21:24:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/?post_type=articles&p=166229"},"modified":"2021-03-15T19:09:13","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T19:09:13","slug":"travel-mammoth-lakes","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/travel-mammoth-lakes\/","title":{"rendered":"An Eastern Sierra Road Trip For The Soul"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mono Lake. Supplied.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MONO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: The day I arrived at Tamarack Lodge<\/a> in Mammoth Lakes, I looked every bit the disheveled rock star. Visit California<\/a> had taken me and a group of journalists to the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles the night before<\/a> and flew our champagne headaches \u2013 and the 1.6 kilos of hairspray in my teased do \u2013 to the sleepy lakeside resort.<\/p>\n

The flight from LAX to Mono County was a bumpy one \u2013 it is a small plane after all and not made for hangovers \u2013 but I\u2019m finding it hard to put into words the beautiful surprise that was waiting for us as we stepped out of the car at our destination. An arctic chill wreathed my entire body as I became fixated on the snowy mountains before me, my view hemmed in by hundreds of Alpine trees. I\u2019m from Australia, I\u2019d never seen anything like this.<\/p>\n

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Tamarack Lodge and Resort.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To my right, a lone fisherman, bathed in a very orange afternoon sunlight, was standing at the edge of a small wharf in a scene resembling one from Dawson\u2019s Creek<\/em> had Wes Anderson directed it. My boots sunk deep into the pebbles and stones as I lugged my suitcase to my cabin, a reminder at how comfortable I was by comparison to my tottering YSLs along Hollywood Boulevard just 24 hours earlier. In these few minutes, I had an inkling that I may walk away with a new appreciation for the icy lakes and granite peaks of the Sierra Nevada\u2019s eastern edge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of active bears in this area,\u201d advises the resort manager as she passes over the cabin\u2019s keys. \u201cIf you see one, try and appear really big and make lots of noise. It\u2019s also best to leave your car unlocked so the bears don\u2019t destroy it trying to break in.\u201d<\/p>\n

OK, inkling dwindling.<\/p>\n

The lovely manager also notes the need to acclimatize to the atmosphere. The center of town is approximately 7,800 feet above sea level and this elevation means there is less oxygen in the air. People may experience muscle fatigue, mild headaches ,or find themselves out of breath from a short walk up a hill.<\/p>\n

A quick Google search lands me at visitmammoth.com<\/a> where they deal out some pretty good tips for managing the high altitude. One of them is to eat lightly which is exactly what I plan not<\/em> to do as we head to the best restaurant in the area: Gomez Mexican. It\u2019s fresh, traditional, and a little Latin inspired and I actually can\u2019t recommend it more for a fun group of friends, a date, or<\/em> hanging with family after a day of skiing. (It\u2019s also \u201cHome Of The Mammoth Margarita\u201d which is exactly what tired, dusty, out of breath campers need.)<\/p>\n

BOOK A TABLE AT GOMEZ MEXICAN IN mammoth lakes HERE<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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The “Mammoth Margarita” at Gomez Mexican restaurant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So in summary, if I you do get approached by a bear, let’s say on the way home from dinner, I probably can\u2019t run away from it given I will become short of breath. And if the bear won\u2019t kill me, the mammoth margarita most certainly will.<\/p>\n

My cabin at Tamarack Lodge and Resort<\/a> was the type of spot Freddie Mercury or Elton John would escape to to write a rock album. A toasty stone fireplace, warm wooden walls, sporadic pine cones and tartan accents aplenty, my favorite little mood setter was the ‘nature sounds’ setting on the alarm clock. Take a listen.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Jessica Bailey (@jessicalbailey_)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n