Adventure Galore

Wednesday night after we were done fishing and were back at camp, I decided to superglue my cut, to help keep it closed up without my thumb being taped to my forefinger. As you can see, the superglue has helped it heal nicely and it doesn't even hurt anymore. I had always wondered if that would really work.

After the superglue had dried I proceeded to clean the 3 fish we had decided to keep after fishing that afternoon. We actually caught 10, but kept the 14-16 inch big ones. It was my first time cleaning a fish, and after a few phone calls to our expert fisherman neighbor, we went to work. My husband held the wiggly fish down on the cutting board while I chopped off the head, slid the knife down the middle of the belly and cleaned all the insides out. I think if we are going to clean fish in the future, we'll need to invest in a good sharp fishing knife. It was a little unwieldy on the slope of a creek, with just an okay knife, by the light of a flashlight. I might have had more use for the superglue had it gone awry. The boys sure loved every minute of it and were so excited when we would catch one and then let it go back in the stream. Son #2 decided it would be easier to just go in the stream and pick one up with his hands and was actually successful! So we think he's part bear and are not concerned about running into bears now, because we know they'll recognize one of their own.

Yesterday we started off the day with some yummy breakfast burritos (cooked by me) before a quick stop at the visitors center. We found out that a lot of the lakes are closed due to snow and ice and that it snowed the previous week.

We decided to head south of Mammoth a few miles to a little place called Wild Willies Boardwalk. You drive down this gravel road about a mile, then walk down a wooden boardwalk to a natural hot spring. We spent the morning soaking in a very warm bubbly pool with a view of the snow covered mountains. I got some good pictures but they're on our other camera and will have to wait until we get home.

The next part of the day wasn't as relaxing. We decided to go check out McGee Lake (which was close by) and find a few geocaches. One of the geocaches was located at an abandoned mine at the top of a dirt road on a hill. The truck got stuck about 2/3's of the way there on a sketchy incline, with the back end sliding off the hill. I got out, gave my husband my opinion about his judgement of the road and the truck's ability, grabbed my kids and proceeded down the hill for some help. Some county officials were just coming up the main road and were able to help us. They had a friend with a truck and a wench, that would be able to help us. They gave me and the boys a ride down to a fish pond while we waited. It was a stressful couple of hours and we went down to a cafe called Tom's Place afterward to celebrate the rescuing of the truck with a couple of beers and food. There was no damage to the truck at all and everyone was safe, so in gratitude, I will let go of my negative thoughts about the situation, and enjoy the rest of the trip.

Today is practice day for the Mammoth motocross. Afterwards we'll pick a short hike for the afternoon, and then finally barbecue the fish.

I finished the hot water bottle cover, and am working on my Dancing Ladies socks. I'm almost down to the heel and hope I'll be able to finish it by the end of the trip. Then I'll finally have my beautiful socks done with the memory of them in the wonderful setting of Mammoth. They sure did save me yesterday!
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