Back from Mammoth Lakes. Retrospective.
Mammoth Lakes Travelog #19
Back home · Mon, 13 Jul 2026. 8am.
We got home from our four-day trip to Mammoth Lakes on Wednesday evening. It's now almost a week later. Yeah, it took me that long to work through the blog backlog. That's typical... especially since I prefer not to slam my blog with, like, 4 posts a day. But the extra days in between give me better perspective now to share a few thoughts in retrospect on this trip. Here are Five Things:
The elephant here is that we didn't get as much done on this trip as we wanted to. We did fewer hikes than we hoped to do, came home a day earlier than we imagined we might, and even noped out on doing much the last day. We had good reason, though. Hawk's feet and back were hurting because she's still recovering from surgeries months ago. On top of that we're both out of shape because we haven't hiked much in that time. Being out of shape hit me harder than I expected. But in retrospect it's not surprising. I've got work to do. We'll both get there.
When we arrived at the cheaper place we found some advertised amenities closed or broken. Specifically, one hot tub was closed and the other was only half working. Oh, and there's massive construction going on right next door. We figured there'd be no relaxation in a half-broken hot tub with an army of carpenters hammering right next to us and towering crane swinging over our heads. We found a surprisingly decent last-minute rate at the nicer hotel so we noped out of the cheap one and drove a few blocks up the hill.
Staying at the nicer hotel was nice. It's hard to quantify but just being in a room at a four-star hotel feels better than being in a 2-star joint. I guess it's all those little things the hotel inspectors who dole out the stars tally up. And the pools at the luxe hotel were nice.... Versus the cheaper place, where they very much looked like "This two-star hotel has a small pool and hot tub. Next to the massive construction site."
So, what's the take-away here? I'll tell you, it's not "Forget cheap places, always splurge." I know us, I know our travel style; there always will be times when we'll be happier saving fifty or a hundred a night. Or more. It's definitely true when we're just staying for 8 hours and a shower. And it can be true on longer trips, too, because cheaper doesn't always mean shitty... and costly doesn't always mean better. I figure the takeaway is to think carefully about how we'll be using the hotel.... The more time we expect to spend in the hotel and not asleep, the more worth it is spending up to enjoy it a nicer experience. But at the same time it requires research to figure out whether cheaper is worse and spendier is actually better.
In four days we logged 682 miles on our car. We burned about 35 gallons of gas. What's that cost? Well, gas was a lot more expensive in the remote areas of the eastern Sierra.
In touristy Mammoth Lakes gas was $6.319/gal at the cheapest station in town. Fortunately we only needed to fill 11 gallons at that rate. It was even higher in Lee Vining... $6.739!
The gas cost works out to $164. That's a sobering figure... but unfortunately not one we can do much about. I mean, what are we going to do, stay home? "Gas demand is price inelastic," as they taught in Economics 101. So we live our lives and pay the price.
Back home · Mon, 13 Jul 2026. 8am.
We got home from our four-day trip to Mammoth Lakes on Wednesday evening. It's now almost a week later. Yeah, it took me that long to work through the blog backlog. That's typical... especially since I prefer not to slam my blog with, like, 4 posts a day. But the extra days in between give me better perspective now to share a few thoughts in retrospect on this trip. Here are Five Things:
1. Being Sick (or just out of shape) Sucks
I feel like I have to start with the elephant in the room— even though that means starting with a negative. I mean, when ever is an elephant in the room a positive? If that saying were going to describe something upbeat that nobody wants to talk about, we'd have an idiom like "the giant surprise birthday cake in the room." 🎂😯🤣The elephant here is that we didn't get as much done on this trip as we wanted to. We did fewer hikes than we hoped to do, came home a day earlier than we imagined we might, and even noped out on doing much the last day. We had good reason, though. Hawk's feet and back were hurting because she's still recovering from surgeries months ago. On top of that we're both out of shape because we haven't hiked much in that time. Being out of shape hit me harder than I expected. But in retrospect it's not surprising. I've got work to do. We'll both get there.
2. It Was a Right-Sized Trip, No Pressure
My fretting about keeping the trip short notwithstanding, it was a trip of the right size. We had an enjoyable three nights at a hotel and a few days of activity. Being retired took off some of the pressure we'd have felt a year ago.... That pressure of, "OMG, I have precious few days off from work, I must maximize my vacation!" Or, as kids today might call it in 2026 lingo, PTOmaxxing. It was nice knowing whatever we don't do this trip, we can do on the next trip— and that next trip can be anytime.3. Staying at the Nicer Hotel was Worth It
When we planned this trip a few weeks ago we chose to stay at a cheaper hotel instead of the spiff one we thought of first. We celebrated the idea that we're easier-to-please travelers who could save some money while still splurging a bit for a suite instead of a plain room. Well, we ended up at the nicer hotel anyway!When we arrived at the cheaper place we found some advertised amenities closed or broken. Specifically, one hot tub was closed and the other was only half working. Oh, and there's massive construction going on right next door. We figured there'd be no relaxation in a half-broken hot tub with an army of carpenters hammering right next to us and towering crane swinging over our heads. We found a surprisingly decent last-minute rate at the nicer hotel so we noped out of the cheap one and drove a few blocks up the hill.
Staying at the nicer hotel was nice. It's hard to quantify but just being in a room at a four-star hotel feels better than being in a 2-star joint. I guess it's all those little things the hotel inspectors who dole out the stars tally up. And the pools at the luxe hotel were nice.... Versus the cheaper place, where they very much looked like "This two-star hotel has a small pool and hot tub. Next to the massive construction site."
So, what's the take-away here? I'll tell you, it's not "Forget cheap places, always splurge." I know us, I know our travel style; there always will be times when we'll be happier saving fifty or a hundred a night. Or more. It's definitely true when we're just staying for 8 hours and a shower. And it can be true on longer trips, too, because cheaper doesn't always mean shitty... and costly doesn't always mean better. I figure the takeaway is to think carefully about how we'll be using the hotel.... The more time we expect to spend in the hotel and not asleep, the more worth it is spending up to enjoy it a nicer experience. But at the same time it requires research to figure out whether cheaper is worse and spendier is actually better.
4. Tallying the Costs
The hotel was the largest expense on this trip but not the only one to consider. With gas prices what they are today the cost just to drive on a vacation cannot be discounted.In four days we logged 682 miles on our car. We burned about 35 gallons of gas. What's that cost? Well, gas was a lot more expensive in the remote areas of the eastern Sierra.In touristy Mammoth Lakes gas was $6.319/gal at the cheapest station in town. Fortunately we only needed to fill 11 gallons at that rate. It was even higher in Lee Vining... $6.739!
The gas cost works out to $164. That's a sobering figure... but unfortunately not one we can do much about. I mean, what are we going to do, stay home? "Gas demand is price inelastic," as they taught in Economics 101. So we live our lives and pay the price.
