Feb. 3, 2012: Winter fishing news for the Eastern Sierra

Topaz Lake is now open for winter fishing, and in the Topaz Lodge 2012 Fishing Derby tagged fish win $100 with every catch over 2 lbs. wins $5 in slot play.    
 
Derby goes through April 15, 2012. Must be 21 or older to participate. All cash prizes. Topaz Lodge reserves all rights.

Wild & Scenic Film Festival ("Where activism gets inspired") travels to Los Angeles March 8, 2012. Film themes include adventure, agriculture, community activism, conservation, energy/climate change, water and many more. 

This will be the Los Angeles premiere of the Mono Lake Committee's new award-winning film, The Mono Lake Story 

The film's story begins in 1978, when Mono Lake Committee founder David Gaines toured tirelessly around California with a carousel of slides and a call to help a dying lake... Watch the trailer

Screenings will take place at the Landmark Theater in west L.A. (10850 West Pico Blvd.) Tickets are available online at Monolake.org/wildandscenic/

For cross country ski enthusiasts chomping at the bit to click their toes into skis and stride into the quiet yonder, the wait is over! Tamarack Cross Country Ski Center in Mammoth Lakes is now open for the 2011-12 winter season, two months shy of its normal seasonal opening but looking more amazing than ever.

The Grand Central Station of Eastern Sierra Cross Country Skiing
You can take your pick of places around Mono County that are best for cross country skiing (Rock Creek, Obsidian Dome, Minaret Vista and Shady Rest), but Tamarack is the big cheese for four reasons: 

Tamarack tips:
>> For day-use tickets and rentals, drive up Lake Mary Road in Mammoth Lakes (away from Main Street), then turn right at the sign for Tamarack Lodge. Find the Ski Center to the right of the lodge for tickets and rentals.

>> If you want to go snowshoeing or winter walking (free!), park at the end of Lake Mary Road and continue up the snowbound road on foot. You'll see signage and the trailhead immediately.

>> End your afternoon with hot cider and board games in the cozy lodge lobby. It feels like it could be 1932, only with Goretex.

>> Option B: If you've got your own equipment and are looking for a similar experience without a ticket price, check out the Obsidian Dome trails (located several miles north of Mammoth Lakes right off Hwy. 395). There are no lakes to gaze upon, but it sure beats a day at the office!

Photo: Tamarack Cross Country Ski Center, Mammoth Lakes, CA, Jan. 22, 2012!

On Valentine's Day, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012, where will you be? Will you be with loved ones celebrating the super bliss of romance? Perhaps you'll be taking that special someone on an adventure in the beautiful outdoors, somewhere high up in the Sierra Nevada mountains, showing them your idea of getting away from it all. Sharing your true love for someone isn't too hard this time of year when you've got a great dinner planned or a thrilling surprise in mind. What is more challenging, especially this year, is showing your true love for Mono County. Do you offer unconditional love whether it snows fifty feet in a winter or just a few? I think you can call yourself a Mono County lover if you can find something to love in every season, in every year, whether that means ice skating in January or trekking Bodie on snowshoes in March or indulging in a bowl of soup at Tom's Place on a rainy day in July. Here's to all the lovers who know how to love the Eastern Sierra for what it is: unpredictable, beautiful and amazing. A true love story, it is. Happy Valentine's Day!

Share your plans with us on Facebook.com/visitEasternsierra. How are you going to be spending this Valentine's Day in Mammoth Lakes, June Lake, Bridgeport, Rock Creek or Topaz/Walker/Coleville? We'd love to know!