The East Side (of the Sierras)

Training is officially over...sort of. This week i shadow educators for the week and then have my own kids next week. Training this week was with the whole staff, so i finally got to know all the other instructors. I am so impressed by how welcoming and embracing this YI community is. Our training on Friday was in Tuolomne Meadows on the east side of the park. I hadn't been on Tioga Pass this far before and loved getting back up to the beauty that high altitude provides. Since we were already on the east side, we exited out of the park on that side to go to "the mobil." yes, "the mobil" is indeed otherwise known as tioga gas mart. so why would wonderful young people gather there? well, for scrumptious food and awesome music, of course. Both friday and saturday night, i went with new friends to the mobil and heard two great bluegrass-y bands. friday i even had the gourmet food they offer (not sarcasm, i had a delish steak caesar salad--look at the top pic). We camped nearby on friday night and went to mammoth (a big city to us...they have a large grocery store) on saturday. In mammoth, we went to a minoret vista point (bottom pic) and hiked a ridge trail. you could see the different mountains on each side of you. it was a pretty keen hike. and after hiking a bit, we greeted two different groups of hunters equipped with rifles. hmmm...you begin to think if maybe this ridge trail is a bit sketch for a day hike. it's not really my thing to dodge bullets, but the hunters were on their way out. turns out, it was the first day of grouse season. we didn't see any grouse on our hike.
this morning i attempted for the second time to go to church in el portal. all services take place in the same chapel, which actually is the old school house for the town. last week i tried to go to the southern baptist service, but turns out they had some turnovers with their preacher and no longer meet. so this morning i went earlier to catch the church of christ service. this service is comprised of ron and liz skelton. they said every once in a while a park visitor staying nearby will come to their service, but otherwise it's just them. i was so inspired that this older couple would go to the chapel every week even if it was just them in attendance. they were super nice. we read a couple chapters in john, discussed it a little, sang about 5 songs with just the three of us and no accompaniment, had communion, and then they gave me a ride back down the hill. they offered me breakfast at their house, but i already ate and was in a mood to just go home. i probably should have just taken them up on their offer, but another time. so i'm debating on whether i'll keep attending church in el portal. i'm thinking maybe i'll go there normally and maybe drive to mariposa (town about 40 minutes away) once a month for a little more fellowship and larger congregation...i'm aiming for more than 3 people. this may be ambitious. maybe i'll just convince everyone i know to attend chapel with ron and liz and overwhelm them with a large group of young people. that would be pretty sweet.