Sarita Shoemaker

Avoid Disappointment And Future Regret

A view while we were completely LOST. Worth it!!

There are definitely certain things you should bring and wear on a hike ANYWHERE.
History has woven the best cloth of disasters and successes and most of it has been well published, documented and experienced by 3 out of 10 adults.
Today was a majestic “speed hike” to TJ Lake via Barrett Lake.
“What is a ‘speed hike’?” I quizzed Randy last night at about 8:00pm as we were getting ready for bed.
We were battling wind all day on our jobs and I was seriously exhausted. I was SO TIRED I could not get the energy together to squeeze my grapefruit and have a fresh greyhound. That’s pretty tired.
“It’s a fast hike but not running.”
“OK got it.”

This is a “guide” for us. The distances so far have been WAY OFF!

Thinking to myself that I had just noted in my journal that I would prefer to meander along the trails and look at the sights rather than buzz through keeping my eyes out in front to avoid tripping and falling AND trying to actually breathe without making myself nauseous.
Yesterday we rode to Horseshoe Lake on our bikes and then ran the lake loop. It ended up being and out and back of 5.5 miles (bike and run) with a total calorie burn (I wore my heart rate monitor) of 650 k/cal.
Today was a grand total of 3.25 miles and 800 k/calls burned!!
That’s because it WASN’T POSSIBLE TO SPEED on any part of this plan.
We had tons of stream and water fall crossings, ascent from Lake George (which is 9,000) to 350 measly feet and I had to stop a number of times to get my brain, lungs and heart together in harmony (and to let the little black dots stop bouncing in my view).

I was hoping it would get easier being up here and pushing myself to try a little harder but so far, after 5 days, I feel like I’m still at Square One. I’ll just “trust the process” and keep at it.
We know of a few friends that have plans to be here which is inspiring us to learn these trails. The method used to mark the trails is not super clear once you are on them. I realized today that both Ansel Adams AND John Muir would not want to see “markings” in their views so it is OK with me to get lost here and there.
When we arrived at TJ Lake we hiked in about a half mile and Randy found a perfect place to do TRX. Of course I had to take pics. I took WAY too many (as per usual).

We followed the signage but ended up lost. TJ Lake “Loop” is not actually around the lake itself. That’s where it was confusing. At the intersection (of the split of the “loop”) we took a right and found the actual lake quickly. It is majestic! We hiked all along the path going up and down and up and down rocks, tree line and near the actual lake. It was chilly (because it was early) and it was perfect. We continued our trek and completely missed the turn off the loop. That took us to boulders that were unpassable (in my opinion) and lots of snow. We decided to turn the bus around and go back the way we came.
Just by chance I caught a sort of “path” looking like part of the trail but we had to go UP on a steep section. We didn’t have a lot of time to dilly-dally so we hustled up with Kona leading us. By pure chance we had discovered the closing portion of the “loop” and thankfully made it out in time.

We headed down past Barrett Lake again and hurried back to Lake George. BOY do I appreciate going downhill and I’m super happy my knees are holding up.
We got to Lake George and there was a guy fishing sitting out in the middle of the lake on what looks like a Lay-Z-Boy recliner. He had caught something and we could see his line tugging. Randy wanted to see (as did everyone else on the shore) what he had caught so we stayed there watching (thankfully in the shade, it was heating up).
Privately I was hoping the fish would get off the line and repeated that to myself in silence. That poor fish was just trying to swim around and likely has a family to get back to. The fisherman most likely lives within a few miles of a grocery store packed with food…so he really, technically, doesn’t need to catch a fish. I’m sure I’ll be revving up a lot of opinions on this point but that’s just how I look at it now.
Well, he caught the fish and it was about 12 inches long flopping all over the place. He got it in his net and we moved on.
Later in the evening we were winding down after our last rounds. I had dinner in the InstantPot (baked potato) and planned to top it with chili I’d made. We had time for me to take Piper on a walk so I got geared up. Taking her on a walk requires protective gloves, sturdy running shoes, a lead, harness on her and her cat carrier. I know I look like a weird Cat Lady and when I walk her I can hear whispers of disbelief that there is a cat at the end of my lead.
While walking her toward Site 1 a young man (like in his 20’s) came storming down the hill toward the Camp Host site. Randy was outside getting a fire stoked. The man was reporting that a bear (the same one) had invaded a family picnic and was eating everything WHILE THEY STOOD AROUND TAKING PHOTOS AND EGGING IT ON. Idiots. Serious idiots. Randy got his running shoes on and grabbed Kona to head down to the lake edge to check it out. We were not “on the clock” so checking into it as a concerned citizen.
Did you know that bears can run up to 30 miles per hour?
Did you know they can and will open up your cooler and take your beer, soda and juices? They will pop them with their teeth and enjoy the nectar.
Did you know that it is just plain STUPID to get close to a bear in any circumstance and take photos ESPECIALLY?
The young man tried to get them to stop but they told him to F-off and that’s why he came to get help from us.
Randy found the scene with these people surrounding (EVEN BRIGHTER, RIGHT?) the bear chowing on their food. He begged them to PLEASE get away from the bear and the man there replied with, “my keys are on the table!” Makes sense to me! There are reports up and down the coast of bears taking advantage of people picnicking with their food spread out everywhere THEN taking their cars for a joyride.
Is this how “thin the herd” came to be something proven?
Randy returned to our trailer and called the Mammoth Mountain Police. No one (we know of) showed up and based on the lack of screams, nobody was hurt.
Friends: You will save yourself and save the bear if you just pack your stuff up, do NOT wear perfumes or cologne, dress in clothing that is neutral, stay in groups and STAY AWAY from them. They are learning bad habits and we are teaching them.
The day before a bear was walking along the edge of the lake taking all of the fish on these things called “stringers”. Those are when a fish is caught and the person is collecting them up. Again, who needs to do this? If it is a sport and you get excited catching a fish…seems to me you can just throw it back in and let it leave or be bear food maybe. ANYWAY, I was secretly happy to hear this was happening but then I read in my BEAR AWARE book how bad it is.
The less impact we have on the wildlife the better for their survival. When a wild animals gets pushed out of its habitat it has to deal with it the only way it knows how to. When this gets to bother a human then the wild animal either gets killed or “relocated”.
I went to bed dreaming about bears and saving them.
TIPS I’M LEARNING – AND RECOMMEND YOU CONSIDER IF YOU PLAN TO COME TO MAMMOTH
SIDE NOTE: Did you know that having iCloud is MEANINGLESS to get your devices synced up if you do not have a solid WIFI connection and lock your phone for an extended amount of time?
SIDE NOTE: Did you know that you should not ever leave to hike without water, a compass, a whistle (this is Black Bear country…I’m reading my Bear Aware book plus it is posted at the park entrance), a long sleeve shirt, wear long pants (mosquitoes), a hat and a map? We get a C- on today having forgot a few critical things. Take a guess which ones. We DID pack a TRX system though and I’m sure we could have eaten is if we got lost in the mountains.

FOOT WEAR
Got plans to roam? Get yourself some bad ass hiking boots. Save your money and get them from REI (they have a no-questions-asked return policy). My hiking boots are Merrell’s and I love them. They come up near my ankle and this came in handy today when we had to go on all fours to move forward on what we thought was a hiking path. They also have grip on the bottom unlike any trail running shoe I’ve worn.
MOSQUITO BATTLE
They’re gonna win eventually. If you do not like spraying yourself with bug spray (which seems to NEVER really work) it is recommended you wear loose fitting clothing. I agree with this completely. In Bishop I was eaten alive (my legs were mostly) as we sat outside near a running creek. Here I have not had one bite and we’ve been outdoors every day for hours.
DO NOT WEAR WHITE
Learned this the hard way.
We started on a trek to Crystal Lake (did I mention we got lost?) and I planned to wear a short sleeve completely white bummy t-shirt. Halfway up the start of the hike (I’d say a quarter mile MAX) my shirt had attracted these tiny black bugs – like 50 or more! They were no bigger than the tip of an eyelash. I’d have taken a photo but they would not have shown up they are so small.
Luckily I’d also brought my light flannel and after Randy brushed me off I buttoned that baby up to the top button…GROSS OUT…and made an open comment that I would be showering and washing my hair tonight FOR SURE.
We also discovered these little black bugs like white ANYTHING – like manuals and paper. While reading out Host Manual the pages were getting dark with these dang black bugs all over it.
WORK SCHEDULE
We have been testing different schedules out.
Today we woke up at 5:30am to slowly rise and relax while sipping coffee and eating breakfast before getting our morning rounds started at 7:00am (which seems to be before most campers rise).
When that was all done (about an hour) we got the pets fed and walked then packed to go on our hike.

That’s about all today!

REMINDER:

If you would like a copy of The Wanderlust Leaf you need to send a SASE to (follow this exactly):
Wanderlust Leaf Editor

Sarita Shoemaker

PO Box 9158

Mammoth Lakes, CA

93543-9158
SASE is a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope

A Tour Of Lake George Camp Sites

Last night I had a little attention on whether or not a bear would be visiting again.
I thought I’d given my BEAR AWARE book away because I could NOT find it. Not sure how I lose anything at all in this small space! Today, while getting the Dirt Devil out I found my book. Whew.
The percentage of people that have no idea what to do when a bear comes to their site is surprising. I mean, I had no idea and have asked Randy to pop-quiz me during the day just so I don’t freeze up. I did read about it earlier but I guess I just forgot plus if you don’t use something regularly there is just no reason for your brain to keep it in the cache right near other important things (like the billions of passwords we are supposed to remember along with our usernames!?!?).
Thankfully we had NO BEAR VISITS last night. I still didn’t sleep great worrying about all of our campers.
TOUR OF OUR CAMP SITES

When we got this job I immediately tried to get a feel for what and where we were going. I had not been to Lake George and never visited Mammoth Lakes in the summer. My winter visits were also limited to the road to Mammoth Mountain and the rental condo we stayed at…and the visit to the grocery store.
Our visit in April was a bust because the place was still under 20 feet of snow. We did have an incredible trip, met our Operations Manager and the Camp Host that had taken care of Lake George for (I think) 4 years in a row.
Because I couldn’t find anything it dawned on me that a little photo gallery plus description of each site might be helpful. So, here we go!

Lake George

The campground sites are on a loop. They are nicely spread out yet close enough to the two restroom facilities (no shower) which are kept extremely clean.

Right outside of the campground is Day Use. This fills up quickly with people out to fish mostly. I’ve never seen so many fishing rods! Day Use has a restroom but the people always seem to use the one meant for the campers. It is plumbed and the other is not. The Campground restrooms have no electricity, so bring a flashlight in the evening.

Site #1

Nearest to the restroom (about 30 yards) this site has the closest access to the actual lake. There is a picnic table, fire ring, giant bear box and very manicured space for a tent. The space is large enough to have a few lawn chairs which are critical for full relaxation! You can also see the sky clearly at night and take in the magic as comets whiz by.

A view of the site from the entrance area.

Bear box. PUT EVERYTHING WITH A SCENT IN IT! Chapstick and make-up included on that by the way!

Coming up…Site 2!
OH AND CAN YOU HELP SPREAD THE WORD: Lake George at Mammoth Lakes is OPEN!

Come see us!!!!!

Lake George: The Fun Continues

Question: If a bear shits in the woods at 9,000 feet elevation on a side of a mountain, how long does it take for a 11 year old loving chocolate lab to find it and begin snarffing it down (at least 4 bites make it) before his owner catches up to him?

Answer: about 3 minutes.

The fun continues in our plan. Today is a SPECIAL DAY for both of us. This is the actual date that we set (7-17-17) to be completely untethered and experiencing a new life out on the planet…moving across it (albeit slowly) and soaking in all that we can. We talked about it for years and then, on a birthday camping vacation near Cambria, we decided to stop talking and PICK A DATE. Boy did that help us a lot. Every single motion, action, penny…energy… we could focus it on our goal. When things would get hairy and unfun, we reminded each other: 71717. Then we’d laugh off the problem knowing that we were going to make this goal happen and dream about what was next.

On that note, it is NOT exactly what we were dreaming. Well, factually I can only speak for myself. Randy will have to get his blog rolling with his thoughts. I know he is having a great time (except for Kona eating bear poop this morning) because he is so dang relaxed, calmer than ever, anxious to be productive and do a good job at our current employment.

Back to “not exactly what we were dreaming”.

The Vet and his Assistant were INCREDIBLE. I will post their info later.

Zoey Shoemaker is a tough cookie. — Zoey on the rebound. Had to use one of my headbands for a body suit to help her stop scratching.

That has everything to do with our beloved pets.

Having two dogs and cat makes it difficult (especially when we were baking in Bishop on stand-by for Lake George). Zoey got really sick and we had to visit TWO vets within a week. The heat was just too much for her and we couldn’t find much relief (carrying her is a joke – she’s way too big for a backpack….we tried) so we can’t go far distances. Piper (the cat) was bored to TEARS in Bishop so we began taking her with us on our visits up to Mammoth. Come to find out: SHE ACTUALLY WOULD JUST PREFER TO SLEEP ON THE FLOOR NEAR THE COOL AIR THAN JOIN US ON A TRIP. Kona is just Kona. He has one marble in his brain and when it falls out of the socket for “balance” and “good choices” we are doomed to find out the repercussions (thus giving us ANOTHER lesson in the same subject we are schooled in over and over and over). We decided to leave him in the travel trailer (in Bishop) with the air blowing and a movie on (Uncle Buck). We just needed to get groceries and stop for Wifi use at the only local brewery in town. The entire living room, kitchen, den, office (sounds big, right? It is about 20′ by 30′, furniture included) was strewn with the trash that WE FORGOT TO TAKE OUT. I think our brains were fried and that had to be why we made such a dumb mistake. Took look at it on the bright side: we had talked about making a checklist of things to do when leaving…and that got done THAT DAY. Haven’t had the problem since.

Now we’re up in Lake George where it is 5O degrees cooler!! 50!!! I am glad I kept a few long sleeve shirts. Zoey’s recent trip to the vet was not cheap but it has resulted in a happier pup just bouncing around enjoying herself again.

Our jobs are officially titled CAMP HOST.

We have our travel trailer parked at the entrance area of the Lake George Campsite. Question for our experienced RV friends: WHEN WILL BACKING A TRAVEL TRAILER BE EASY AND STRESS FREE? This one was super tough. We did not have much room for error at all. It took us about 8 attempts but we/Randy got that sucker tucked between giant pine trees, next to a bear box and picnic table PLUS far enough in to connect up the water, power and sewage. Yep, he’s getting STUD POINTS in my book. That. Was. Not. Easy. I’m thankful we won’t be doing it again for a while.

We work for a company called California Land Management (or CLM). I have learned that the National Parks (I hope I am getting this straight) contract private companies to manage the campsites. Just want to give a SHOUT OUT to these companies because I am now learning how much work is involved with giving you (the camper) an excellent experience. I am halfway through our company handbook and I’m just amazed. I had no idea what it took and now that I’m part of it I want to beg you: BE KIND TO THE PEOPLE MANAGING THE PARKS (whether they are at a private company or working for the Forest Service, National Parks…whatever).

While it sucked waiting in Bishop to begin, the fact is that it was NECESSARY so the place would be absolutely SAFE for visitors to camp at our site. The winter dropped 20 (at least) feet of snow on the mountain and it is still there melting. The forest service people that I’ve met have been really professional. I got to see a tree chopped down (John) and the inside of it was hollow. Now I’m not going to be sad when a tree is chopped down “for a good reason”. That tree would have killed someone and it was right near the pathway. Those Forest Service people have their jobs cut out for them. The water is another situation that had to be handled. You can’t just drink the water! Well, you CAN but it is risky. There is a government entity that actually takes responsibility for this being safe and as annoyed as anyone wants to get: they aren’t going to let you poison yourself. I met another Forest Service worker yesterday named Jack. He was getting the potable restroom cleaned then trying to get the bear boxes working (they were bent closed and no matter how hard I tried I could NOT get it open for a Day Use person who was trying to abide by the “don’t leave food in your auto” laws. (Hey Johnny!)

Lake George was supposed to open up on June 1st. That got bumped to end of June. Then it got bumped again to “mid-July”. A lot had to happen between the day we applied to be Camp Hosts to the day we got ourselves settled up there. I think CLM runs 12 different sites and they are doing their best to get them all open (refer to the paragraph above). Actual humans have to get things done and there is only so much time in a day (and Mother Nature doesn’t really care about routines, schedules or plans). Everyone with reservations had them cancelled (for the reservable sites) until the 27th of July. I was told that they were all notified but of course there are people that do not read their mail and showed up with their entire rig and families to be turned away. It would make sense that there would be emotions pouring all over. Guess what: the CLM workers had to take that pain and they just kept working as hard as possible to get the place open.
Which brings me to THE PEOPLE running the camp sites at CLM. Seriously COOL PEOPLE that just want one thing: you to have a great experience. I’m not kidding either. I’m still learning the ropes and the rules and expectations but the seasoned men and women I’ve met have been SO HELPFUL getting us rolling.

Our Boss: Dillon

Service and Maintenence Team: Mike, Justice and James

D/Ops Manager (I’m still learning): Cindy

Recycleables Manager: Wendy (I think)

June Lake Host: Karen

Coldwater Camp (I think) Host: Betsy

Lake Mary Host: Mona

We met the Operations Manager for INYO (Justin) back in April when we came up to see about what things looked like (and it was covered in snow and we snowshoed out to Lake Mary.

Dillon visited us to get us rolling. Cindy gave us all of our paperwork and also helped Dillon give us quick training so we could open. At 3pm on July 14th we were allowed to have a camper! Our FIRST camper! It was sincerely exhilarating.

We have one book to read between the two of us and it is about 3 inches thick of rules, guides, tips…etc. Randy finished it on Day 2 in between helping people and our tasks. I am mid way through it as of yesterday.
OUR ROUTINE

We need to make rounds in the camp three times every day. Depending on the circumstances (like a bear came around on our first and third day) we do this at 7:00am, 2:00pm and 7:00pm. We cannot work more than three hours each and it is a scramble to make that happen. I think the biggest task is maintaining good relations with the campers answering questions. We also get people from the Day Use Only area coming over with TONS of questions.

I don’t have it memorized but our goal is to work with the US Forest Service to help the citizens enjoy this beautiful park. People need to feel welcome! That means having awesome conversations with anyone and everyone that wanders to our trailer. I think I’m going to go into town and pick up a few area maps or something to help them find the trails (we are no experts on these trails at all…and we got lost (that pic at the top is of Randy trying to figure out how to get us to Crystal Lake…the trails still have snow covering them).

People are up here to camp, fish, hike, picnic and enjoy the weather.

BEARS!

Our first night (July 14th) we had a bear sighting by a camp guest in the morning.

We were told a few stories about how bears 🐻 behave in these parts and they were PROVEN last night.

A lady was making bacon for her family on the grill and a bear walked into her camp site and up to the grill and took all the bacon and at it right there while she was frozen.

A family was eating their dinner at Lake Mary and a bear came up (without Reservations!) and ate all of their food while they screamed and yelled (and probably took their phones out taking pics) helplessly. That was at dinner time!

Last night at about 7:00pmwe had done our final rounds and I was preparing dinner. We planned to eat our on our picnic table with a fire going. There was a Father and Son that had joined us from Germany and did not speak a lot of English. When I checked them in I noticed they did not have a lot of food and I thought they might be hungry. Randy encouraged me to walk up and invite them over for dinner so I started up the hill to their site (which is #8, the best view of the lake).

I was about halfway up and it was dusk. I was wearing my progressive glasses, not my contact lenses. Distance isn’t the greatest. Dusk doesn’t help either. The moon was out and all I heard was the flip and flop of my sandals. I breathed in deep enjoying the space and glancing around the sites as I passed them. Then I heard it, “GET OUT OF HERE!!” Over and over. Site 10 (at the top of the campground) nicknamed “Utah” (he was a dad from Utah) was dealing with a bear blowing through their site toward my German Family site!

I stopped and tried to remember WHAT TO DO. Mike (maintenance) had just told me what to do but I was panicking and could not remember. I saw the shadow of the bear moving along the ridge toward my other sites. CRAP!!! I had to protect my people! But HOW!? I squinted again toward where the yelling was coming from and realized it was only 30 yards away from me. I could not turn and run away (but boy did I want to). Then it hit me: MAKE NOISE. They don’t like it (and I’m sure it is more like a mosquito buzzing around them because technically they could squish us like bugs) and move on. This was a new bear just recently kicked out by its mama and trying to survive I was told later.

Lake George Campground Site 8 — Site #8 Lake George Mammoth Lakes. Tent only. First come, first serve. View of Crystal Crag. DOESN’T SUCK!!

Randy and Sarita Shoemaker, Camp Hosts — This is right before I walked up to Site 8.

One of my MOST IRRITATING qualities is that I can make noise. I learned how to whistle and it impresses (read: irritates) anyone directly in front of me. I began to whistle over and over to warn Randy and hopefully help get the bear moved on. I was really worried it would decide to head in my direction then I’d have to figure out what to do next (stand there and whistle?). I heard Utah yelling at the other sites to STAY IN YOUR TENT over and over. In a flash I realized that a tent was really not much of a protective dwelling – especially if there was food in it! Those bears have a keen sense of smell and you really can’t outsmart them.
Then the bear disappeared over the side of the mountain toward the lake. I ran up to the site and talked to Utah. He was one of the campers that was disappointed he’d missed the last bear pass through (it was a rumor). He wanted some ACTION and he got it! I think he slept better than any other night satisfied he’d gotten his wish. I approached Site #8. “My German Friends! Are you OK!?” I yelled out. There was the sound of a zipper and out popped Dad. They were fine (whew). I asked if they were hungry and that I had extra dinner if they wanted some but they’d eaten and were just settling down for the night. Well OK then, everything was good (except my heart was racing from all of it.

Well, that’s the latest (as of last night) and I’m sure I’ve missed a lot.

We are on a break in town and I’m sitting at the public library using the wifi trying to get things updated on my phone through iCloud which has been a complete JOKE.

I sent out the beginning of my Wanderlust Leaf envelopes. Please let me know if you got yours. I sent out a bunch of post cards and letters over the past two weeks but I have no idea if people are getting them. The Post Office here has low ratings and all of the reviews are because they lose things. Fingers crossed my stuff wasn’t lost! I can’t even remember who was in my last batch of post cards: JK? Neema? Anitha? Manzoor?
EXERCISE

Running at 9,000 ft elevation is a REALITY ADJUSTMENT. We are getting up early every day to squeeze in a little true heart-pumping exercise.

We ran from Lake George to Lake Mary and were going to head into town (go right) but there were three deer on the path on Lake Mary Road so we turned left toward Horseshoe Lake. Getting up and out before 6:00am helps you see some pretty amazing stuff.

We hiked toward Crystal Lake (photo above) in the afternoon and got lost plus we had to hurry back to get our final walk through of the site done. AND mosquitos were suddenly buzzing around.

We rode to Horseshoe Lake and tried to ride Mammoth Lake Pass but it was WAY too technical for me and ruddy so we opted to do the Horshoe Lake path. It was covered with snow, water crossings AND on our way in a hawk dive-bombed Randy coming INCHES from his head as we rode past. I could NOT believe what I was seeing! When we finished that out-and-back we did some push-ups on a log in the empty parking lot (and helped a lady that let her dogs off leash and they were running around in those dead trees…which are all dying because the CO2 is elevated in this area…pets have to be careful!).

IN CLOSING…FOR NOW…

This has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

You can do this too.

No matter what your circumstances there are plenty of roads to travel and places to explore. Don’t wait until you are too old, too weak, to tired…DO IT NOW and feel the energy of this beautiful planet fill in so much good space and squeeze out the negativity!

Do things because you want to, not because of someone else’s ego! That’s key in my opinion. Read or listen to (even better) Stuart Wilde. He is a philosopher with a great accent and an even greater sense of humor.

Currently we are slotted to work until our trip to Ireland which is mid-September. Our pets will be living with their Aunt Cherril in Simi Valley while we are away.

That’s the plan as of today and it isn’t solid and it might change and I’m OK with that.

I love and miss all of my family and friends!

🙂 xo Sarita
PS: I’m posting this and I think it will go to Facebook. I cannot get to Facebook at all and only get an hour here and there when we come into town for groceries. SO: if you want me to see your comment please leave it on my blog here. Also, our address is still the same. PO Box 9158 Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546-9158 (make sure you leave the -9158 on the zip).

We Have GOOD NEWS!

Just when we were about to kill each other we got a fantastic phone call from our soon-to-be “Boss”.

It’s been a LONG time since I’ve had a boss. This is going to be interesting. I know I’m a great employee so that part I’m not worried about. I guess I’m worried about knowing what is needed from us so we can be sure to provide it. Our motto has always been “Underpromise and overdeliver”.

I have gone from 5 bug bites to 9 as of 4:30pm. We just put Frontline on all the pets and now have the fun job of clearing out the house. Yes, it is awful but it is what I signed up for. Just found out from a professional exterminator that my bites are mosquitos. Well that’s a relief since we have 27 feet of HOUSE to live in and fumigating really is not an option.

I am preparing 25 magic envelopes tonight. I only had enough budgeted to print 25 copies of my newest HAND DRAWN newsletter called The Wanderlust Leaf. I’ve had no internet (stable anyway) so I have spent time just doodling out a fun little daddy that I hope to continue. No excuses unless I run out of Sharpies and/or Ticonderoga pencils.

Top priority (check your mailbox from the US Postal Service) are people leaving comments about my posts on my actual blog (not on Facebook) that I have a home address for. This idea was not in the family finances or budget – it costs 30-cents to print ONE piece of paper. There is no other printing place in all of Bishop, so we are stuck. I will say that Alex’s Printing on Main Street is a great place though. I got a lot of help making sure my prints were perfect.

Randy is currently cleaning out all of our delicious plumbing because WE GOT THE GREEN LIGHT TO HEAD TO MAMMOTH!!

We have a few questions still to make sure we leave at the right time but overall we are seriously excited to move a step further on our original plan.

Just last night we had no confirmation and were trying to figure out how we would make this happen. Living in Bishop is NOT ideal for our pets and that is our biggest concern. It was great news to hear from our boss.

So, the best way to hear about what is happening is going to be this blog. I hope you subscribe to it if you are interested.

If you want to get a copy of our first Wanderlust Leaf please read my blog and leave me comments. I will read and reply to each of them when I have internet. Promise.

Thank you friends and family!

Randy, Sarita, Kona, Zoey and Piper

From Bishop, California

It’s Amanda Shoemaker’s Birthday Today!

It’s July 13th and that means WE CELEBRATE our beautiful, talented and kind daughter Amanda Nicole Shoemaker!

We will never forget the fun memories with you and all of the goodness you brought to our lives.

I am Amanda’s Step-Mom. One of the toughest jobs I’ll ever sign up for willingly. Started the job in October 2006.

She taught me a lot. She opened my eyes up to a whole other world filled with energy and life that made her bubble and enjoy her friends and family.

There are so many belly busting hilarious moments with her in the short amount of time we spent in each other’s lives.

We spent her last birthday pigging out at BJ’s digging into a pazookie (which is a chocolate chip cookie baked fresh then topped with ice cream…not invented by Jenny Craig). It was DELICIOUS.

We celebrated her 17th and sang Happy Birthday just like we do with every birthday person in our lives.

Happy Birthday To You

Happy Birthday Dear Amanda

Happy Birthday To You!

We miss you so much but you are on our minds every single day.

I often find myself wondering if you are near us watching our lives unfold.

I also imagine you are somewhere special welcoming the friends and family we lose and helping make them feel comfortable (as corny as that sounds).

So much in my life today is a direct reflection of you!

J-Diamond RV Resort, Bishop CA

Most people wouldn’t know this place was here, pretty sure. If they do know then it would come with a stigma, raised eyebrow and immediate judgmental opinion when you mention it is where you are “staying”.

The J-Diamond RV Resort is nestled behind the infamous (since 1938 a billboard boasts along Highway 395) Erick Schat’s Bakkery.
The Host we met (Rachel) was super nice. Our spot was designated and I got a little excited when she told us to go to #99. (Like I said in my last post, I just like that number a lot and it felt “lucky”.)

Distracted by the baking heat, we did not notice much of our surroundings immediately. We were eager to park the thing and get our space organized so we could go to dinner with Rob and Jennie in Paradise.

PARKING/BACKING THE TRAILER IN

There is a GIANT TREE (I’m gonna guess 20 foot circumference) tree between our spot and the family on the north side.
We have a big concrete slab to call our “porch” which is nice.

On the south side is a trailer that is being picked apart by birds thread by thread. I’m gonna guess the last time it moved was a year ago, maybe more.

To the west of us is a row of RV’s and a CREEK that is flowing madly and a family of ducks enjoy.

On the east side is a row of permanent type trailers and their yards are packed with their belongings. Directly behind us is a garden! In it is a mysterious bottle-like contraption.

The people have been really cool and wander through our backyard to and from each other’s rigs. One guy came buzzing up during our arrival in a monster rail offering help.

Two tries to get safely past the giant tree then PRECISION. Dang!

Randy parked the Lorax LIKE A BOSS. He is definitely getting better and better at this task!! So cool.

My job was to help get the “arrival” checklist done helping Randy stabilize and make sure we were as even as possible. We did that quickly leaving the pets in the truck with the AC blasting and shade.

Next I had to confront the absolute MESS of the interior. I have a great system now in my kitchen to make sure nothing is broken or destroyed. It worked.

Having to re-arrange all of the over-weight area ruined my plan so I began to dig out the items one by one. Once that was done and the power turned on (listening for that popping sound indicating our surge protector was humming) we cranked the AC, opened up the slide-out and brought the pets in.

We were both drenched in sweat and hurrying to be ready to go to our dinner date at the Winterburn’s house (which we did not know how far away we would be driving).

I was next assigned to getting the water set up. Rachel (our Camp Host) mentioned we would have cable but I discovered we did not bring a wire to go from the cable box to our trailer – oh well.
The last day we watched cable TV was July 27th, 2014! I would not miss having cable really so no biggie.

I had to “plug us in”. That tall structure in the center was PACKED with spider webs and I had to go upside down to find the 30 amp plug. IN THE SUN.

The backside of the TT. My work area IN THE BLAZING HOT SUN.

Our neighbor on the east. We met him and he is a really cool man.

What a disaster! Until you realize IT IS ALL WE OWN so it isn’t THAT much to clean up!

Piper actually seems to enjoy when it’s a complete mess.

Got the water rolling and then we took showers to cool off and prepare the pet’s dinners.

We began our drive to Jennie and Rob’s place noticing the mountains on our left. It was dry as a bone (something we were getting used to in Simi Valley, California) and definitely “high desert” terrain.

The neighborhood they live in is called Paradise. When we walked through the front door and out on to the deck we could see why. There was a slight haze from the Diaz Fire lingering but through it we could see The Buttermilk’s and Mt Tom. AH-MAZE-ING.

Jennie is a yoga professional (she has studios in Simi Valley!) and hosts a retreat in Bishop for yoga teachers. The house is zenfully calm, peaceful and serene. The views just add to it. I imagined having a cup of coffee in the morning then working on yoga all day. Ahhhhh….

There were three treats at the house: their pets!

Their neighborhood survived a terrible 500 acre fire in late 2016 (Owens River Fire) but from the deck we only saw a little haze from the Diaz Fire currently still happening.

Time flew by too quickly as we dined on Jennie’s home made vegan fare and it was scrumptious! She should open a diner. Yes! A Yoga Diner. Is there one in existence?

We talked about so much and learned a lot about each other – we have a lot more in common which I thought was neat.
After dessert we headed back home to find the pets happy to see us (when aren’t they!?).
The drive home was so peaceful. Rob and Jennie were our first visit on our journey away from all that we have known and relied on as a home base. We are grateful and thankful for that time together.

Arriving at The J-Diamond in the darkness was a bit spooky. The number of trailers (which range in age and aesthetics) lined up around us was awkward and not comfortable. The heat was still pouring off the ground and buildings.

Randy did his usual “security walk around”. We agreed to sleep with the AC on all night. This is something we both really don’t like at all.

By 9pm we had climbed into bed for our first night in a strange new place and were fast asleep with full happy bellies.
It was a decent Day 1 on our official Wanderlust Journey.