So yes, here we were in Mammoth. The Missus loved the hiking with JJ….on this day we headed back out to the Horseshoe Lake Parking and then took the McLeod Lake Trail. Of course JJ just loved it out here.
And the views were outstanding.
And while the lake was lovely….it was what we saw near where w parked the car at the Horseshoe Lake Parking lot. While the lake views were lovely…..
This section looked totally different.
All those dead trees. We walked over and read the signage.
Apparently, there were a series of small earthquakes under Mammoth Mountain in 1989. This caused the magma to push CO2 up thru the soil, which caused the roots of the trees to die. Testing by the USGS in 1994 confirmed this. Crazy, huh?
We headed back to the Westin to…well….you know what….
After resting up a bit; we headed across the way to the Village. There was a place we were interested in dining at; but because it was still early in the season, the place was not yet opened for outdoor dining.
So, we walked over a bit and found this place.
Which had a large outdoor eating area and also a Happy Hour menu.
We ordered a couple of appetizers and a salad…..
We started with the Tri-tip skewers.
The cubes of tri-tip was really dry and tough. The sauce overly sweet.
We also got the Peri Peri Wings. We were warned by the really nice Server that it was going to be spicy.
Which it wasn’t. The sauce was quite tangy and salty. The chicken had been really overcooked and was tough. It did have some decent smokiness though.
The Missus did enjoy the Wedge Salad, especially the Blue Cheese Dressing which had a nice funky tanginess along with a not overly sweet balsamic glaze.. This is why the Missus had me start making Blue Cheese Dressing from scratch at home.
Lots of crumbled bacon…nice refreshing salad.
Overall; very nice service, but I don’t see us returning here.
Smokeyard BBQ and Chop Shop
1111 Forest Trail Suite 201
Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546
We did sleep well. And JJ did fine staying on an upper floor. There’s quite a bit of open space around the hotel and I even saw some wildlife while taking JJ out to potty early…think 5am in the morning!
Up early the next morning, we did the hike from Lake George to Emerald Lake.
Where JJ could show off some of his newly found balancing skills…..
You actually pass five lakes along this hike. This is Lake Barrett.
Even though it was early June, there was still snow on the ground in places.
And of course you know JJ and snow, right?
Making it to Emerald Lake, we headed on back.
We had lunch at Old New York Deli & Bakery and then had a well earned nap. Upon awakening, we decided to take a drive around…we did the Mammoth Scenic Loop…then went to by JJ some toys and snacks at Tailwaggers. By now it was just about 430. The Missus was really not into hitting up the Village again. I had found a BBQ truck/trailer of sorts while doing some research. It was located in a business park, next to Devils Creek Distillery.
We got a combo plate with Ribs and Elk Sausage, plus a tomato salad.
The tomato salad was excellent…using sweet-acidic-tangy tomatoes.
The slightly sweet-acidic balsamic dressing was wonderful.
Our favorite item was the Elk Sausage, very savory, nice and smoky, quite rich. The ribs were nothing special…though decently smoked.
That mashed potato salad had a bit too much mayo in it, though the greens were really refreshing.
The gentleman working was really nice. And he even gave us some moist and tasty cornbread….which was gobbled up so quickly, so no photos.
Anyway, we enjoyed our meal and even returned here the following month! We made sure to schedule that stay with the days the trailer is open – only Thursdays thru Sundays.
Emberz BBQ
120 Commerce Dr.
Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546
As we took in the view of the Village from our patio, the Missus had me planning a return trip to Mammoth the following month. She, and JJ had really taken to the place.
We ordered the meat rare. but only the large piece was rare, the rest were medium-well, skewing things to the tough side of the scale. The meat was well seasoned, though the "sauces" really didn't go well with the proteins but was necessary for the really dry "garlic bread" bites in our opinion. The Bloody Mary aioli was interesting, but pretty bland; the BBQ Sauce was too sweet. 
Not much has changed since the last time, or even from 1947, when The Barbecue Pit first opened in downtown San Diego.
Other than the prices and having a daily availability of brisket (used to only be on weekends).
Walk up, order, pay and you walk away with your tray of food. Efficient.
Find a seat.
Go back to the condiment bar and beverage station. Remember to grab utensils!
A bowl of Navy Bean Soup-filled with beans, carrots, celery and bits of ham. An excellent version almost always ordered (except when I really want the Pea Soup)..
This went well with a beef sandwich. (Soup and Sandwich, $11.99). This is Pit Barbecue-slow cooked over oak-not overly smoked (there is a smokey BBQ sauce available on the condiment bar). The sandwiches are 1/2 pound, the bread is lightly toasted. It all comes together in each bite. 
The Mister ordered the chopped burnt ends plate ($10.99) which included two sides. The burnt ends are meaty, not fatty.
We decided to share a slice of pecan pie ($4.99) which had an excellent, flaky crust, not too sweet filling and still crisp pecans. A nice treat. 
I went in and chatted with the nice folks at Poseidon and they told me that they were starting BBQ on weekends starting on the 5th of August, running from Fridays to Sundays.
The rib and tips both had a very nice, deep, distinctive smoke ring and a decent, almost "crisp" if uneven bark.
