Olympic Running ties to Mammoth

Go Ryan Hall!! We are anxiously awaiting the start of the men's Olympic marathon in a few hours and just wanted to voice a cyber cheer for you. Your NY Trials and London marathons were thrilling and we know how hard you work and admire your drive to succeed and how you balance it with your family (Hi Sara) and spiritual life.

We are proud of the other Mammoth Lakes, CA, homeowners who are representing us in Beijing. Congratulations to Deena Kastor (women's marathon), Ian Dobson (men's 5,000m) and Jen Rhines (women's 5000m), for making the Olympic team and representing the US with their hard work. Andrew reports that Deena is in good spirits (after breaking her foot 5km into the race), though I know her competitive nature probably has her just as frustrated as we all imagine ourselves to be if we were in her Asics shoes.

Ian, you da man. Just for being so positive all the time and so supportive of others.

Jen, congratulations for qualifying for the medal round of the 5,000. Hope the heel gets better quickly. Good luck in Europe in the next few weeks.

Congratulations also to coach Terrence Mahon. The commitment and the care shown to your runners is very apparent. They guy never stops working.

Finally, thanks for the live updates from Beijing to Andrew "Duuude" Kastor, who sacrificed defending his title in the Leuven 800 this year to happily support his wife. Sorry for the expensive phone call on your birthday - Salsa's carne asada burrito is on me when you get back.

See you all back here soon. I think the Looney Bean and Salsa's have gone out of business with you gone (unless Mike McKeeman is making up for it on his own). -DC and Fam

What to do in Mammoth right now

Snow Sports: With mother nature holding out on us right now, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area is busily blowing snow and plans to have the top of the mountain open today and Stump Alley (Chair 2 open tomorrow). But those of you signed up for their daily emails already know this.

Ice Skating on a lake: I am anxious to go see this site. My partner and her family ice skated on Lake Maime on Wednesday. With cold nights and no snow, it makes our lakes perfect for ice skating. Last year they skated across Convict Lake, which is huge. And they could see fish scattering beneath their feet as they skated. Word is there is hockey being played on Maime. The Ski Surgeon rents skates, but just make sure you can determine if the ice is thick enough. Anyone know a formula for this?

Running: Beautiful weather for a high-altitude run anywhere below the 8500' level. Trails down by Hwy 395 and Hwy 203 are nice and soft and you get great vistas of the Sherwins and of frost-lined creeks. In some years, the pros go down to San Diego or over to the Bay Area to train through winter, but this winter they don't have to leave their home town! So the lack of snow is at least helping their industry!

Mtn Bike: I rode Downtown two days ago and rode across some ice patches between Main Lodge and the bone yard.

Shopping: Sierra Jewelers is going out of business and is offering up to 60% on their inventory. Of course, the Outlet Malls are happy to unload their inventory at half off pricing.

Dining: LuLu was packed the other night - good to see for the village, but I still think it is overpriced (a individual mushroom pizza for $18?!). Alpenrose next door to RE/MAX is a better option with their new chef, Brian. I can't wait to try the White Bark restaurant in our new Westin 'Monache' hotel that just opened up yesterday. The Westin lured a chef from Las Vegas to come out and wow our palettes.

Real Estate: I met several folks over Thanksgiving who were in town just to look at real estate. They did not even ski (not that they were missing much). I helped one family find a good deal on a condo and are excited to start using it in early January. See my next blog for the current deals of the week!

Arts: Free Holiday concert this weekend at St. Joseph's Church on Sunday night at 7pm. Orchestral and Choral works to get you in the moood.