{"id":442,"date":"2009-08-12T08:21:43","date_gmt":"2009-08-12T16:21:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mountainbikebill.com\/blog\/?p=442"},"modified":"2009-08-12T08:21:43","modified_gmt":"2009-08-12T16:21:43","slug":"mammoth-day-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mountainbikebill.com\/blog\/?p=442","title":{"rendered":"Mammoth Day Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

What a fun day in Mammoth we had yesterday.\u00a0\u00a0 After leisurely getting up and around, the boys and I went off to do some fishing at some of the local lakes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Fishing is a good way to help teach the value of patience and we should have been doing this more often.\u00a0\u00a0With my kid’s daily life of video games, hockey, skateboarding, bikes and all the other things that keep them buzzing with activity it was good to put things in the slow lane for a change. \u00a0We were all\u00a0reminded that is called fishing and not catching.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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On several occasions\u00a0we watched trout swim right below the rock were were perched on.\u00a0\u00a0 One even came up to the surface and gulped down a bug that just landed on the water.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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I was really stoked when my boys not only got to see a Bald Eagle but also watched it swoop down and pluck a trout right out of the water.\u00a0 The eagle then landed on an dead tree nearby and proceeded to scarf down the trout.<\/p>\n

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While all Bald Eagles are big birds this was not a huge eagle like the one I saw in Anacortes, Washington<\/a>\u00a0earlier this year.\u00a0\u00a0 One thing is for certain I was so stoked that my boys got to have\u00a0such an\u00a0awesome\u00a0nature\u00a0experience\u00a0without having to turn\u00a0to the Discovery channel.<\/p>\n

My mid-afternoon we decided to cut the fish some slack and headed back\u00a0to the condo.\u00a0\u00a0 Looking at the clock we realized we had enough time to catch a gondola ride up the mountain.\u00a0 Jake and Casey had some shopping on thier to-do list so Will and I suited up and headed out for a run down the mountain.\u00a0 Will has been bucking\u00a0to do some of the more difficult\u00a0trails on the mountain.\u00a0\u00a0 I was also looking forward to some of the more technical and feature\/stunt oriented trails as well but at the same time the\u00a0Dad in me has been apprehensive\u00a0about putting Will in over his head.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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After talking with some folks I decided to test Will out on the black diamond upper section of “Skid Marks”\u00a0\u00a0that starts off right off the top of the mountain.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Will did quite well through the rocky bits and switchbacks, but did take a minor “soil sample”.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He did have\u00a0all of the protective gear on so he did not even get a scratch.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I did find that following my son\u00a0through the technical and semi-exposed sections made my riding\u00a0more difficult as\u00a0my brain kept switching back and forth between\u00a0mountain-biker and\u00a0dad mode.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Once I realized that Will’s bike handling skills have been improving significantly I found that I was able to spend more time riding with him as a fellow mountain biker and and less as a protective father.\u00a0 After\u00a0Skid Marks we took the more intermediate trails of Paper Route and Juniper down\u00a0the mountain and enjoyed some great swooping and flowing singletrack goodness down the mountain.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The late afternoon light was really nice and colors of the\u00a0mountains were starting to go off.\u00a0\u00a0 We stopped a couple of times just\u00a0to take in the views.\u00a0 Will has always enjoyed the thrill of riding but I think something may have clicked this afternoon about intrinsic value of experiencing\u00a0the scenery and of the overall outdoor\u00a0experience beyond simply the enjoyment of riding the bike.<\/p>\n

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More Stuff Like This<\/h3><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Big Laguna Meadow Cruise<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Help Save \u201cUrban Legend\u201d<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Palm Canyon Awesomeness!<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Ranger Creek and Palisades Loop (WA)<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n<\/div>