Arrowhead Lake

Last summer I discovered my favorite town that I have ever been to. With the majority of my relatives living in Hollywood, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Sacramento; most would think that family vacations could not get much better. But last year my Grandma Helen passed away and one of her wishes was to have her ashes scattered in a small stream running from Arrowhead Lake in Mammoth, California. Mammoth is where my aunt grew up and where her and my uncle live now. It is a tiny town based around a ski resort on Mammoth Mountain. I have gone to California every year since I was born, but for some reason our relatives and us have never vacationed in Mammoth. Because of my grandma's last request about her ashes, she brought us all together in Mammoth last summer. Her four children plus husbands, wives, children, and children's children. When I found out that Mammoth is all mountains and that I would be hiking, mountain biking, and going fishing, I was less than thrilled. All I wanted was a summer lying out in the sun. Not hiking on mountains that still had mass remnants of snow on them. But after saying goodbye to my grandma one last time in the stream, we hiked the rest of the way to the top of the mountain. When I caught my first glance of Arrowhead Lake, I immediately fell in love with Mammoth. I understood how my aunt had lived there her whole life, because I never wanted to leave. I stopped complaining about all the "outdoorsy" things I would be doing for the next week, and absolutely loved every single thing that I did. I caught my first fish where my grandma caught hers, mountain biked, and became obsessed with Ben and Jerry's ice cream. I will never be more grateful for my grandma bringing my family together in such an amazing town.