When Dave and Jan moved their campsite from Coldwater Campground, above Mammoth Lakes, to Iris Meadows, a few miles west of “Tom’s Place” on the Rock Creek Road in the Sierras, they found they were camping next to a professional photographer from England. He told them of beautiful wild flowers at Gem Lakes in the Little Lakes area. So, though the next day was overcast, Dave and Jan headed up the trail – and their were many nice floral displays.




At Gem Lakes the weather had turned to rain and hail, so it wasn’t ideal for pictures, but the area is still beautiful even in damp weather.


Some of the nicest flower displays of the day were found at Chickenfoot Lake, before the weather turned damp.




As beautiful as they are, wild flowers don’t stay around very long. So we are grateful for the reminder of the Prophet Isaiah (40:8): “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

Dave and Jan returned recently from a very enjoyable camping vacation trip to the East Sierras – blessed again to be able to be awed by the amazing beauty of God’s creative handiwork up so high. Though Mammoth Lakes area campgrounds were mostly filled to capacity, Dave and Jan were able to book a two-night stay in the immediate area at Coldwater Campground where they camped several years back.

Nearby lakes include Twin Lakes, Mary Lake, George Lake, and Horseshoe Lake – each accessible along the roads in the region. But Crystal Lake is only accessible by hiking trail – so it was one of the destinations for one of the many hikes they enjoyed.



The trail above the lake, toward Crystal Crag, provided many views of the several lakes in the Mammoth Lakes region.

The ridge high above Crystal Lake, at an elevation of around 9,000 feet, provided some awe-inspiring views of the higher peaks which are so abundant in the Sierras.

Of course, they also provided some views of the steep descents to the valley floors below (as well as a forest fire burning on the horizon not too far from beautiful June Lake)!

On another day in the Mammoth area, while Jan was doing some errands in town, Dave took a ride on what was billed as a mountain bike trail. Too many vehicles on the “trail” – which was actually a dirt road – had turned the ride into a lengthy sand trap! But it was rewarding to get to see some of the locals along the way.

Much more enjoyable for a bike ride in the area were the miles of paved trails combing the town and climbing up the grade into the basin where the lakes were located, so Dave enjoyed two rides in one day.

And we’ve only “scratched the surface” of a very pleasant two-week stay in the Sierras – so we’ll revisit the subject in another blog or two. Hiking almost every day of the vacation, this was one of the best camping vacations Dave and Jan have experienced in the regions of our beautiful nation “up so high”! As Dave observed to a fellow-hiker in a flower-strewn meadow in another place on another day in response to his observation that the area was beautiful: “The Lord does nice work!”