Smoke and Mirrors

I bought a small, one bedroom condo in Mammoth Lakes, California this month. This is my first real estate purchase and I’m very excited about it! I’m excited about retreating there in the snowy winters, reading books in my cozy spot, meeting up with my new friends, and skiing, of course. I’m also pleased to have a place to host my family in the summertime as they retreat from the Texas heat into the beautiful Sierra Nevadas. It is lovely in Mammoth, except for the not so lovely things. 

The day after closing on my new place, I hiked with a few new friends to Minaret Lake. It was a great hike, although it seemed to never end on the way down. The following day, the Creek Fire broke out in the Sierra National Forest creeping as close as 20 miles to my new community. I sat by Mammoth Creek having a picnic with friends passing through town while ash, some as large as fluffy snowflakes, periodically rained down on us and smoke blotted out the blue sky and sun. 

Hmmmm, I thought. Is this my initiation to home ownership in the mountains? In all truthfulness, what’s a little fire when you’ve bought a condo in a super volcano. Welcome to Mammoth!