Exploring the Kakheti Province of Georgia (The Country)

When we spent time in Georgia (the country), we were fortunate to be able to see many different regions of the country.  Our first trip out of Tbilisi was to Kakheti, the easternmost region of Georgia which is bordered by Russia and Azerbaijan.  The Kakheti province is probably most famous for its wine.  In addition to wine, Kakheti has churches, fortresses, and scenery. 

Kakheti has always been an important region of Georgia.  Hundreds of years ago, when Georgia was occupied by the Persians, the Kakheti region was the richest region in Georgia, so the Persians would tax the harvest instead of destroying Kakheti, which is what they did to many other regions of Georgia.  That is until 1616, when the Georgians rebelled. 

While Kakheti can be visited on a day trip from Tbilisi, there are a lot of things to do, so we suggest spending two days in Kakheti with an overnight stay.

Ujarma Fortress

On our way from Tbilisi to Kakheti, our first stop was Ujarma Fortress.  Ruins on a hill are all that is left of Ujarma Fortress.  Ujarma Fortress was built by King Vakhtang Gorgasali, also known as Vakhtang Wolf’s Head, in the 5th century as the second capital of Georgia.  It is believed that this is also where Vakhtang Wolf’s Head died, shot with an arrow in the shoulder.

Gombori Pass

As we continued our journey through Kakheti, we traveled along Gombori Pass, the highest spot, at 1600 meters, on the way to Telavi.  Georgia is a small country, yet has five climate zones, some of which are passed through when climbing the Gombori Pass.  With this change in elevation comes great views of Georgia’s varied landscape. 

Alazani Valley

Alazani Valley is one of the many wine regions of Kakheti.  In this part of Georgia, residents don’t care about the outside appearance of their houses.  Wine is much more important here, and if your house has a wine cellar that’s been around for centuries, it’s the best house there is no matter how it looks.  Many homes in this region have underground wine cellars that are very old and are treasured heirlooms of the owners and an important part of their heritage.  A house may be rebuilt several times over an old wine cellar.  We noticed that there are lots of old cars and learned that Soviet cars are very popular in Alazani Valley because they are durable and can hold up to the bad roads.

Alaverdi Cathedral

Alaverdi Cathedral was the tallest religious building in Georgia for centuries, but is now the second tallest at over 55 meters.  Alaverdi Monastery was first founded in the 6th century by Father Joseb from Alaverdi, who is buried in the monastery.  The St. George cathedral was built in the 11th century by Kakheti King Kvirike.  The cathedral was restored in the 15th century after being damaged by war and again in the 18th century when the dome was damaged by an earthquake. 

Old frescoes remain, though faded and only pieces remain.  Many of Alaverdi’s frescoes were washed away when the dome collapsed, as it wasn’t restored right away.  However, the Mother of God fresco in the altar managed to survive as it was protected in the greatly recessed altar. 

Alaverdi Cathedral is out in the countryside, surrounded by green grass, passed by a river, and back dropped by snowcapped mountains.  The cathedral, monastery, and grounds are surrounded by a wall, built to prevent Persian invasions. 

Gremi Church

Gremi was an important royal town along the Silk Road in the 15th century.  Now only the church and citadel remain, as the rest was destroyed in 1616 when the Georgian’s rebelled against the Persians.

Gremi’s famous resident was Queen Ketevan, who later became Saint Ketevan.  Ketevan married Prince David, the heir to the Kakheti throne.  David’s father was King Alexander.  David’s brother, Constantine, converted to Islam and was raised in the court of a Persian shah.  King Alexander stepped down to be a monk at Alaverdi and David became King.  He died four months later in 1602 and Alexander was king again.  Shah Abbas commanded Constantine to murder his father and brother and seize the throne, which he did.  When Constantine wanted to take Ketevan as his wife, there was an uprising and Constantine was killed.  Ketevan stepped up and ruled Kakheti while she waited for her request to the Persian shah to proclaim her son king.  Her son, Teimuraz, became king, but he was ordered to send his sons and his mother to Persia, which he did, as a guarantee that he would be faithful to the Persians.  War ensued between Persia and Georgia.  After Queen Ketevan had spent years in prison, the shah decided to convert her to Islam and marry her.  She refused and was martyred in a horrific way in 1624.  It is said that her holy relics illuminated and were taken away and buried in Alaverdi Cathedral.

Gremi church, which was built in 1565, is dedicated to the archangels.  Frescoes from 1577 cover the walls, including the last supper in the altar.  The faces depicted in some of the frescoes are scratched off, which happened a few decades after the church was built. 

The bell tower houses a museum of artifacts, and the walls are covered in portraits of Kakheti kings, painted by a modern Georgian painter with a cartoonish style.

Nekresi Monastery

We only saw Nekresi Monastery from the road as we drove through Kakheti, but it has an interesting story.  Nekresi Monastery is high up on a hill and overlooks the Alazani Valley.  Pigs made Nekresi Monastery famous.  A Muslim army was invading and the people had an ingenious idea of releasing pigs down the hillside.  The idea worked and the Muslim army retreated at the sight of the pigs.  Because of this event, Nekresi Monastery is the only Christian church in Georgia where pigs can be sacrificed.

Sighnaghi

Sighnaghi is a unique town in Kakheti.  St. Nino is buried in Bodbe Monastery just outside of Sighnaghi.  The city of Sighnaghi is high on a hill and surrounded by a four kilometer wall.  This town also has one of the country of Georgia’s best restaurants, Pheasant’s Tears.

Related: What to do in Sighnaghi, Georgia (The Country)’s City of Love

Wineries

The Kakheti region of Georgia is one of the important wine regions of Georgia and perhaps the oldest wine-producing region in the world.  Not only has wine been made in the Kakheti region for thousands of years, the large clay vessels in which this wine is made, called Qvevri, have also been made in Kakheti for thousands of years through the present day.  The Qvevri wine-making process of Georgia is so important, it has been named a UNESCO intangible heritage.  Twins Wine Cellar in Naparevli not only offers wine tasting, but also has an extremely educational museum which explains the entire process.

Kvareli Eden Hotel

For our one night in Kakheti, we stayed in Kvareli at Kvareli Eden.  While we weren’t at the hotel for long, I did make sure to squeeze in a visit to the wine spa after dinner.  UNNICO SPA specializes in vinotherapie, where the residue of wine making is used for spa treatments.  The pulp is supposed to be good for exfoliating and anti-aging. 

Other features of the hotel include a gym, indoor pool, lobby bar, and restaurant. 

Winery Khareba Restaurant

While in Kakheti, we of course had to taste Georgian wine.  We visited a couple wineries, including Winery Khareba.  The winery is located in the Gvirabi tourism complex, which at its base has tunnels used for aging wine.  Fifty-eight meters above the tunnel is the Khareba restaurant. This large restaurant offers a menu of traditional Georgian foods paired with Winery Khareba wines. The restaurant’s elevated position provides views of the Alazani Valley and Kvareli vineyards. Leaving the restaurant, we were greeted with a dark night filled with sounds of a million frogs croaking and random sheep bleating. 

Thank you to the Georgian National Tourism Administration for hosting our trip to Georgia and making this post possible.  As always, all opinions are my own.  This article contains affiliate links.  If you purchase through them, it costs you nothing extra and we earn a small commission which goes towards running this website and bringing you more travel stories.

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What to Do in Sighnaghi, Georgia (The Country)’s City of Love

Sighnaghi is a small town in Kakheti province, the eastern-most region of the country of Georgia.  Its population is approximately 3,000.  Sighnaghi is unique because it has fortress walls surrounding the city, which have been well-preserved.  Sighnaghi is also a Georgian town that is working to be a center of tourism and is known as Georgia’s city of love.  Here is what to do in Sighnaghi, the city of love.

Sighnaghi Fortress

The city’s name Sighnaghi comes from the Turkish word signak, which means shelter.  The English translation of Sighnaghi is refuge.  Georgian King Erekle II tried to save Georgia by making a treaty with Russia, the Treaty of Georgievsk.  This treaty made Georgia a protectorate of Russia and in exchange, Georgia would maintain its territorial integrity.  The plan backfired.  Persia decided to invade and Russia did nothing to help.

King Erekle II built Sighnaghi in the 18th century as a refuge against attack.  Sighnaghi is high on a hill, with views of the Alazani Valley and the Georgian Caucasus.  Sighnaghi is surrounded by a four-kilometer defensive wall with 23 towers and six gates.  It’s like a mini Great Wall of China, as it undulates up and down the curves of the hills.  The wall is still intact and can be walked along.

The homes within Sighnaghi’s walls date from the 18th and 19th centuries.  The streets are cobblestone and the town has retained an original feel.

Sighnaghi Museum

The Sighnaghi Museum is a branch of the Georgian National Museum.  The Sighnaghi Museum has a variety of exhibitions that feature Georgia’s history and culture.  These exhibitions include ethnography, medieval archaeology, Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani, and Georgian artist Lado Gudiashvili (whose art can also be seen in Tbilisi’s Kashveti Church).  My personal favorite exhibition was that of the artwork of Niko Pirosmani. 

Niko Pirosmani painted naïve art.  He was always poor.  He taught himself to paint.  He opened a painting shop and painted signs for businesses.  The story is that he sold his shop to buy carts of flowers for the French actress Margarita.  Pirosmani had no more money, so he started painting using cheap materials like oil and cardboard. His most used base was oilcloth.  His paintings are dark in color and provide a window into the social conditions and day-to-day life of Georgians in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Pirosmani died poor and his work wasn’t recognized until after his death.

Pheasant’s Tears

Since we know not everyone is into food, I didn’t list Pheasant’s Tears at the top of the list of what to do in Sighnaghi.  However, for food travelers, Pheasant’s Tears is a must visit.  Pheasant’s Tears may be the best restaurant in all of Georgia.  When we were planning our trip to Georgia, our friend who has also been to Georgia said we must eat at Pheasant’s Tears.  

Pheasant’s Tears is a winery that produces organic unfiltered wines in the millenniums-old Georgian tradition.  Pheasant’s Tears’ wine is fermented and aged in Qvevri, pointy-tipped egg-shaped clay vessels that are lined with organic beeswax and buried in the earth.

Pheasant’s Tears is also a restaurant.  They make traditional Georgian foods, but with a modern twist.  Pheasant’s Tears doesn’t have a menu.  Head chef Gia Rokashvili creates a Georgian feast which is served to all guests who choose to have a meal here.  These feasts are made with seasonal products and local meats and cheeses.  On the day we visited, our meal included homemade cottage cheese, beets in red plum sauce (Georgians create magic with plums), potato fries with plum sauce, and tree mushrooms that were salty and crispy.  Gia likes to play with recipes and experiment with spices.

Pheasant’s Tears is located in a 300-year-old house in which they found an old wine cellar with buried Qvevri during their restoration.  They also found a clay pot in the vineyard that is over 1,000 years old, and they have a 200-year-old grape crusher on display.  Pheasant’s Tears exhibits carpets, art, and examples of traditional Georgian life. 

For those who don’t make it to Sighnaghi, Pheasant’s Tears also has a restaurant in Tbilisi near Freedom Square called Azarphesha. 

Bodbe Monastery

Just a little outside of the walled city of Sighnaghi is Bodbe Monastery.  In the fourth century, after Georgia converted to Christianity, Saint Nino, the queen responsible for the conversion, withdrew to Bodbe gorge where she died.  She wanted to be buried in a church in Bodbe rather than being taken away to be buried elsewhere by the King.  Legend has it that the King came with 200 horsemen, but couldn’t move her.  The King ordered a small monastery be built for Nino to be buried. 

A layer can’t be found of Bodbe Monastery that is older than the 11th century, and it has been significantly modified since it was first built.  The walls were plastered in the 19th century and covered with frescoes in 1823 which depict scenes from the Old Testament, which is unusual for Georgian churches.  St. Nino’s relics are in catacombs to the side and below the altar. 

Bodbe Monastery is now a convent for nuns.  Some restoration is occurring currently and sadly this includes new, shiny tile floors and electric outlets in the columns.  A new, larger church is also being built on the grounds. 

Memorials

Sighnaghi has two memorials to lives that have been lost in Georgia.  One is the World War II memorial wall.  Georgia lost a large percent of their population in the war and the World War II monument memorializes their dead with engraved names of the deceased.

There is also an April 9 memorial, commemorating the 20 who were killed during a peaceful anti-Soviet demonstration in Tbilisi.

Sighnaghi Wedding House

In case you've been wondering why, Sighnaghi is the city of love because couples come here to get married and can get married in Sighnaghi any day of the week at any time of day.  The Sighnaghi Wedding House is open seven days a week and 24 hours a day.

Sighnaghi is a unique city unlike others we visited in Georgia.  Come for the food and wine, and stay for the scenery.

Thank you to the Georgian National Tourism Administration for hosting our trip to Georgia and making this post possible.  As always, all opinions are my own.

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Things to Do in Mammoth in Summer or Anytime With No Snow

San Diegans usually view Mammoth Lakes as a winter travel destination.  Mammoth Mountain, part of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, offers some of the best skiing and snowboarding in the state of California.  However, there are a number of beautiful, natural outdoor sites in Mammoth Lakes that can’t be visited during that popular time of year because they, or the roads leading to them, are covered in snow.  Summer in Mammoth Lakes is also a popular time of year for travelers, but it doesn’t feel as crowded as winter because everyone is spread out fishing, hiking, biking, and driving, rather than all being on the slopes.  For nature lovers, there are many things to do in Mammoth in summer, or any time snow isn’t covering the ground.  Also, Mammoth Lakes is incredibly dog-friendly, so all of these things to do in Mammoth Lakes are dog-friendly as well. 

Devils Postpile National Monument

After breakfast our first morning, we spent almost the entire day at Devils Postpile National Monument.  This large open area protects the Devils Postpile formation and Rainbow Falls and offers miles of hiking trails surrounded by mountains.

Devils Postpile is a geological phenomenon of lava columns that are hexagonal in shape and appear to jut straight out of the ground, some bending near the top.  These crazy columns of lava were apparently created thousands of years ago when basalt lava flowed quickly into Reds Meadow Valley and created a lake of lava hundreds of feet deep.  As the lava cooled, cracks formed, creating the columns.  The columns were revealed by glaciers.

Rainbow Falls is also found at Devils Postpile National Monument.  Rainbow Falls is 101 feet tall and gets its name from the rainbows that form in the mist at the base of the falls.  The rainbows of Rainbow Falls are best seen mid-day when the sun is bright and directly overhead.

During the summer, visitors to Devils Postpile National Monument must travel there using the Reds Meadow/Devils Postpile Shuttle Bus. 

Like much of Mammoth Lakes, Devils Postpile National Monument is dog-friendly.  However, note that all dogs, no matter how small, must wear muzzles on the Reds Meadow/Devils Postpile Shuttle Bus.  Soft muzzles are available for purchase at the Mammoth Mountain Adventure Center, however, I read that the rubber basket muzzles are actually more humane as they allow dogs to pant better, which is important in the summer when it can get hot, especially on a crowded shuttle bus.  Henry and Charlie didn’t like them, but they tolerated the muzzles, and Henry was still plenty happy to have a treat or three while wearing his.

Another thing to remember about Mammoth Lakes, especially when traveling with pets, is that it is very high elevation.  This affects dogs just as much as it affects humans.  Henry and Charlie definitely moved a lot slower, and on our hike through Devils Postpile National Monument, we ended up carrying them most of the way.  Be sure both humans and pets drink lots of water and have snacks.

Mono Lake

Another geological wonder near Mammoth Lakes is Mono Lake and its tufa towers.  Mono Lake is a little bit like the Salton Sea in that its salinity level is higher than that of the ocean.  Also like the Salton Sea, Mono Lake’s water level is falling, which has revealed the tufa towers.  

The tufa towers are made of limestone and are created by calcium-rich underwater springs mixing with the lake water.  The calcium mixes with the carbonates in the lake water and creates limestone, or calcium carbonate.  Tufa towers only grow underwater, so the only reason why we see these towers, some over 30 feet tall, is because the water level has fallen dramatically.  The best tufa towers can be seen at the South Tufa grove.

Also similar to the Salton Sea, Mono Lake is a temporary home to many species of migrating birds.  Mono Lake is also home to a smaller winged species, the alkali fly.  These small flies congregate on the shoreline and move en masse close to the ground when humans walk through.  These flies provide food for the birds and they feed on the algae.  There are also brine shrimp in the lake that provide food for the birds.

Hot Creek

Hot Creek is another geological marvel.  Hot Creek is located in a volcanic caldera several hundred feet deep and 10 miles by 16 miles.  Through this caldera runs a creek which gets its name because water from the Sierra Nevada seeps through the cracks of the earth, is heated by magma, and then comes back up to the surface via steam vents and springs of boiling water.  

The result is a zigzagging creek that steams and bubbles.  The water can get very hot and geysers can even erupt without notice, so entering the water is prohibited.  However, this doesn’t stop many locals who use Hot Creek as an outdoor natural hot tub.

Bodie State Historic Park

Outside of Mammoth is one of California’s oldest towns, Bodie.  Bodie State Historic Park is one of California’s historic gold-mining ghost towns.  In its heyday, it was one of the biggest cities in California.  

The town is named for Waterman S. Body (William Bodey) who discovered gold in them thar hills near Mono Lake.  The mine was purchased by the Standard Company in 1877 and people started flooding in.  Today the town is a ghost town and it became a State Historic Park in 1962.  However, the town has been continuously lived in since the beginning, though now its few residents are park rangers. 

While Bodie is a fraction today of what it was in the past, there is still an impressive number of buildings that remain and which are caught in a state of arrested decay.  Some buildings of note are the Methodist church, Miller house, visitor center and museum, morgue, post office, Boone store and warehouse barn, schoolhouse, bank, and jail.

Visitors to Bodie can even visit the Standard Consolidated Mining Company’s Stamp Mill.  In its heyday, the sounds from the stamp mill could be heard miles away.  Stamps, heavy iron rods, were used to break the quartz rock to reveal the gold and silver, and then mercury was used to separate the metal from the rock.  The mill can only be visited during the summer months on a guided tour.

Scenic Gondola Ride

To get an elevated, 360-degree view of Mammoth Lakes, head up Mammoth Mountain on the Scenic Gondola Ride.  These gondolas take up hikers, bikers, and people who just want a view from the top.  There are two stops on the gondola ride, but workers will make sure you don’t get off at the wrong one.  The top is at 11,053 feet.  At the summit are not only views, but also an interpretive center and learning stations. 

Earthquake Fault

California is earthquake country, and there’s a really huge, ominous fracture in the ground called Earthquake Fault in Mammoth Lakes.  However, this isn’t a traditional earthquake fault.  It is a fracture that was probably formed during a volcanic eruption.  The fracture is a few hundred feet long and 60 feet deep in some spots.

Outdoor Sports

No matter the time of year, Mammoth is the place for outdoor sports.  Winter is for skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, sledding, and snowmobiling.  Summer is for hiking, biking, fishing, and boating.

Getting to and Around Mammoth in the Summer

Mammoth Lakes without a Car

It is possible to enjoy Mammoth Lakes without a car.  The Mammoth Lakes Airport is serviced by direct flights from Los Angeles year-round with additional non-stop flights from San Francisco and San Diego in the winter.  Airport shuttles, hotel shuttles, and car rental agencies are available, as well as limited taxis. 

If you want to enjoy the things to do in Mammoth Lakes in summer without your own car, Mammoth All Weather Shuttle offers not only shuttle service to and from the airport, but also point-to-point car service, long distance shuttle service, trailhead transfers for hikers, and summer sightseeing tours.  To see what visiting Mammoth Lakes without a car would be like, we took Mammoth All Weather Shuttle’s June Lake Loop, Mono Lake & Bodie Ghost Town Tour, which is a seven-hour tour.  The benefits of taking a tour with Lucas Ropke, owner of Mammoth All Weather Shuttle, whether or not you have a car, are that you get to relax and take in the views, and also that you get the benefit of Lucas’ local knowledge of geology and history and his guidance as to what are the important sites on which to concentrate.

Mammoth Lakes also makes it easy to get around town for visitors by providing free public town transportation.

Mammoth Lakes Road Trip with the 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander SEL

Being travel bloggers comes with fun perks, and for our road trip to Mammoth Lakes, one of the many fun perks was getting a 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander SEL S-AWC to test drive for a week.  The Mitsubishi Outlander turned out to be a great car for a road trip to Mammoth Lakes.  It’s very roomy, with three rows of seats.  It was just the two of us and our two dogs, so the third row wasn’t necessary, but that was okay because the third row easily folds down to provide more room in the back.  We had our two suitcases, camera equipment, dog carriers, dog bed, and it all fit without even reaching to top of the back seats, meaning visibility wasn’t hampered in the least.  There was plenty of room in the back seat for Henry and Charlie’s dog car seat as well.

In addition to its roominess, the Mitsubishi Outlander has insane gas mileage for an SUV, which was fantastic for our road trip.  The 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander SEL gets 29 MPG on the highway and 26 MPG combined city and freeway and holds 16.6 gallons, which means it can go 430 to 480 miles without filling up.  Mammoth Lakes is just under 400 miles from San Diego, so we could make that over six-hour drive without stopping for gas.

Some other features that made the 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander SEL great for a Mammoth Lakes road trip were the lane departure warning, forward collision mitigation, and adaptive cruise control.  The lane departure warning is a feature that beeps if you stray outside of your lane, good for a long drive, especially late at night.  However, this feature can also be turned off, which we did while driving the winding roads of Mammoth Lakes.  The forward collision mitigation feature not only warns the driver that a collision might be imminent by beeping when too close to a car ahead, it also applies emergency braking automatically to hopefully avoid, or at least reduce the severity of a collision.  The adaptive cruise control was a bit of a surprise.  I had the car in cruise control on US-395 and was getting ready to change lanes because I was approaching a slow-moving car when all of a sudden the Mitsubishi Outlander lost speed.  The car uses radar to detect vehicles ahead and will slow down the car to maintain a preset distance between you and the car ahead.  If the car ahead goes faster or changes lanes, the speed of the Mitsubishi will automatically increase up to the cruise control set speed.  All of these features are very useful for a long drive where a driver might lose a bit of their concentration.

No matter where we are, we always seem to end up going off-road, and we knew some off-road driving would be a given in Mammoth Lakes.  The 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander SEL has All Wheel Control (AWC), Mitsubishi’s brand name for four-wheel drive, so we had no concerns about taking the Mitsubishi out onto the dirt.  There are a myriad of other features like power folding mirrors, heated leather seats, SiriusXM radio, rearview camera, GPS, and plenty more.

Places to Eat in Mammoth

Hotel restaurants are getting better and better, yet I am constantly surprised by the really good hotel restaurants we encounter in our travels.  Whitebark at The Westin Monache Resort is one of those restaurants. 

First off, we were told that we had to try the sushi.  What?!  Sushi is what we need to try at a mountaintop restaurant?  We reminded ourselves that all of our sushi is flown in from somewhere far away and went for it, ordering the poke salad made with five different fresh fish, house poke sauce, daikon, seaweed salad, and tobiko caviar.  Delicious!

We followed our sushi appetizer with something meaty and hearty.  Rome went with the aged New York steak, Yukon gold potato puree, grilled asparagus, and Au Poivre sauce.  I ordered the free range duck with pan roasted Pekin breast, crispy skin leg confit, sweet potato puree, roasted Brussels sprouts, and orange gastrique.  Maybe it had something to do with the fact that we’d done a lot of walking and I had carried a small dog who wasn’t crazy for the heat and altitude most of the way, but that duck was one of the most delicious duck dinners I’ve ever had, and I’ve had duck in a few different cities and countries.  Also, while the duck breast is usually my favorite part, Whitebark’s crispy skin leg confit won because it was so rich and flavorful and so crispy.

Perhaps not as unusual as eating sushi in a ski resort town, but not the first meal you’d think of either, was eating Mexican food at Gomez Restaurant Tequileria, the self-proclaimed highest and largest tequileria in the world with over 500 bottles at an elevation of 8,054 feet.  We learned that Gomez’s chef is known for his sauces, so we made sure to choose entrees that featured sauces.  I had the Mexican rib-eye steak with Mezcal compound butter and Rome had the new and amazing Wahoo Mexicana, a white fish marinated in jalapeno, ginger, soy dressing and grilled wrapped in a banana leaf served with rice, plantains, and Baja slaw. 

Gomez Restaurant Tequileria is located in The Village at Mammoth, the place where everyone in Mammoth gathers at night.  There’s always something going on.  The night we visited, there was a wine tasting and live music.  We sat outside since we had the dogs with us, which gave us the feeling of being part of the action.

The funkiest place we ate while in Mammoth was at Whoa Nellie Deli, a restaurant in the Mobil gas station.  Whoa Nellie Deli is the product of a brilliant idea to create a one-stop shop, a restaurant in a gas station, at the corner of Highway 395 and 120, the gateway to Yosemite.  Whoa Nellie Deli doesn’t just sell food, it serves casual gourmet fare like their world famous fish tacos with mango salsa and ginger coleslaw, wild buffalo meatloaf, lobster taquitos, steak and eggs, and more. 

Where to Stay in Mammoth in the Summer

For our summer weekend in Mammoth, we stayed at The Westin Monache Resort.  Something we noticed as we arrived in Mammoth at night and pulled up to The Westin Monache Resort was that even in summer, Mammoth has a Christmastime feel.  The pine trees in town, including outside of the Westin, were decorated with lights, which gave it cozy ambiance. 

The Westin Monache Resort sits in a great location just across the street from The Village at Mammoth, the place to be at night after you’ve spent all day exploring nature. 

The Westin Monache Resort is also dog-friendly.  Now, if you’ve read our 10 tips for traveling with dogs, then you know that one of our pet peeves is “pet-friendly” hotels that don’t allow pets to be left unattended in the room.  Unfortunately, The Westin Monache Resort falls into this category.  However, since Mammoth is such a dog-friendly destination, we were literally able to take Henry and Charlie everywhere we went, so it wasn’t an issue, except there were a couple times we’re pretty sure Henry and Charlie would have preferred to be left behind because they were exhausted.

Our room at The Westin Monache Resort was everything you could want for a mountain retreat.  We had a large suite with a king-size bed, living room area, and a fully equipped kitchen.  We also had a little gas fireplace that we used every night even though it was summer.  Henry enjoyed napping on his dog bed in front of the fire.  Henry and Charlie also enjoyed that we used the kitchen to make them hard-boiled eggs to add to their breakfast and dinner so they were energized for their outdoor activities.

Mammoth Lakes is a treasure trove of natural outdoor beauty, most of which is buried under the snow in winter.  Mammoth Lakes is a beautiful travel destination at all times of the year, but summer, or anytime when the ground isn't covered in snow, is the season to go to experience these particular things to do in Mammoth.

Thank you to Visit Mammoth and Mitsubishi for hosting our summer Mammoth Lakes weekend getaway and making this post possible.  As always, all opinions are our own.  This article contains affiliate links.  When you purchase through them, it costs you nothing extra and we earn a small commission which goes towards funding this website and bringing you more travel stories.

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