My curiosity got the best of me this week, so I decided to park a desk and a chair at the path leading from the parking lot to the Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center on Thursday morning. Daughter Margaux created a colorful “Need Help?” sign for me the night before, and I wore my Mammoth Lakes Lions Club gear so that I’d look like a legit volunteer. 

And I sat out there from 9 a.m. ‘til noon and answered visitor queries the best I could. 

The Welcome Center and Mammoth Lakes Tourism offices are closed because of Covid. Meaning there is no physical “help” presence at Mammoth’s primary visitor entry portal. 

About halfway through my “shift,” Supervisor Stacy Corless (recused from the Tioga Inn hearing) and June Simpkins came by to help out.

I took notes regarding every visitor interaction, of which there were 39. 

Total number of visitors engaged: 86, though there were undoubtedly several more uncounted who stayed in the car while a designee asked the questions. 

Many were first-time visitors. 

None would have received any help otherwise. 

All were masked and polite. Every single one. 

One asked me about (it was either on a bumper sticker or a license plate frame) a message she’d read which went something like, “If you’re not a Mammoth local, go home.” 

I told her that some people who’ve lived here for all of five minutes – the first thing they want to do is slam the door so as to preserve what’s left for themselves. “Ignore it,” I said. “I’m glad you’re here. Just don’t camp illegally, litter or complain.” 

One couple asked for information about taking their nine grandchildren (some as young as 2) to Devils Postpile. 

Granddad then asked about Rainbow Falls – could he bring a stroller down there? How far was it? 

We told him it would be too much. He didn’t like the answer. I wonder if he went for it anyway … 

Mammoth Lakes Tourism’s Emily Bryant swung by around 11:30 – she must have heard we were out there. She hauled out maps (the most common request) and Visitor Guides for us to distribute. 

Just so you know … Bryant is asthmatic and works remotely. She answers A LOT of calls because her cellphone is literally the default for MLT. When you call the Welcome Center, they give you MLT’s number. When you call MLT, it’s routed to Bryant’s cell. 

On a typical Sunday, she said she receives 150 calls. 

On Wednesday, she missed (and had to sift through and return) 75 calls because she was on the phone taking other calls. 

I want to pause briefly here to revisit part of my June 6 editorial before making a few observations:

“There’s no need to market locally right now. Our customers are clamoring at the gate. My wife is turning away 3-4 Airbnb requests on a daily basis.

Our issue this summer is not going to be visitation. There’ll be plenty of it. Our issue is going to be capacity. How do we handle summer crowds if the restaurants can only take half the customers, if the trolleys can only take half the passengers, if the Red’s Meadow shuttle is canceled, if there is no Whitmore Pool, no summer camps … “

Observation #1: Stop blaming MLT for the crowds. MLT has nothing to do with it. And as instructed, MLT is putting out messaging telling people to recreate responsibly. MLT is doing its job – nothing more, nothing less.  

Observation #2: If you want to point a finger regarding the Town’s utter unpreparedness for the moment, the clear culprit is Mammoth Lakes Town Council. That’s the ultimate decision-making body. They were warned this was going to happen, and responded by doing nothing. NOTHING. 

This week, a citizen named Nikki Rae Jepsen collected 2,000 signatures from concerned community members and approached MLT, advocating it devote $120,000 of its budget immediately to resort care and management. 

MLT’s response: We’ll dole out the $14,000 we’re saving by the Welcome Center NOT operating to fund two trail hosts at 20 hours a week each for ten weeks. 

What a lackluster, shitty response. I mean … that ball was teed up so nicely. Why do we have to sit there and spend the next month talking about club selection? Why is it so hard to just hit it? Should’ve told Jepsen they’ll spend $50,000 minimum.

Nikki Rae for Town Council, btw. Deadline to file papers is Friday at 5 p.m … 

Here’s what really needs to happen over the next four weeks minimum. We need four Visitor engagement sites at the Welcome Center, in front of Vons, at the corner of Forest Trail and Main near Kittredge Sports and in the Village at Mammoth. 

These sites need to be staffed from 9-3 daily. 

I imagine volunteer organizations like Lions and Rotary and Volunteer Eastern Sierra can staff two of the sites for a small fee, as most of these groups’ local fundraising opportunities (Pancake breakfast, et. al.) had to be canceled this year. These organizations would be eager to raise some money (which is donated back to the community anyway in the form of scholarships, etc.) 

And staffers from MLT, the Mammoth Lakes Chamber and/or the Town who are “working from home” can get off their asses and staff the other two sites. A shift or two a week.  

And you don’t need to be a marketing person to staff it. If a newspaper publisher and a politician can do it, ANYONE can do it. 

Heck, even a Town Manager or an Executive Director or a Police Chief could do it. path leading from the parking lot to the Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center on Thursday morning. Daughter Margaux created a colorful “Need Help?” sign for me the night before, and I wore my Mammoth Lakes Lions Club gear so that I’d look like a legit volunteer. 

And I sat out there from 9 a.m. ‘til noon and answered visitor queries the best I could. 

The Welcome Center and Mammoth Lakes Tourism offices are closed because of Covid. Meaning there is no physical “help” presence at Mammoth’s primary visitor entry portal. 

About halfway through my “shift,” Supervisor Stacy Corless (recused from the Tioga Inn hearing) and June Simpkins came by to help out.

I took notes regarding every visitor interaction, of which there were 39. 

Total number of visitors engaged: 86, though there were undoubtedly several more uncounted who stayed in the car while a designee asked the questions. 

Many were first-time visitors. 

None would have received any help otherwise. 

All were masked and polite. Every single one. 

One asked me about (it was either on a bumper sticker or a license plate frame) a message she’d read which went something like, “If you’re not a Mammoth local, go home.” 

I told her that some people who’ve lived here for all of five minutes – the first thing they want to do is slam the door so as to preserve what’s left for themselves. “Ignore it,” I said. “I’m glad you’re here. Just don’t camp illegally, litter or complain.” 

One couple asked for information about taking their nine grandchildren (some as young as 2) to Devils Postpile. 

Granddad then asked about Rainbow Falls – could he bring a stroller down there? How far was it? 

We told him it would be too much. He didn’t like the answer. I wonder if he went for it. 

Mammoth Lakes Tourism’s Emily Bryant swung by around 11:30 – she must have heard we were out there. She hauled out maps (the most common request) and Visitor Guides for us to distribute. 

Just so you know … Bryant is asthmatic and works remotely. She answers A LOT of calls because her cellphone is literally the default for MLT. When you call the Welcome Center, they give you MLT’s number. When you call MLT, it’s routed to Bryant’s cell. 

On a typical Sunday, she said she receives 150 calls. 

On Wednesday, she missed (and had to sift through and return) 75 calls because she was on the phone taking other calls. 

I want to pause briefly here to revisit part of my June 6 editorial before making a few observations:

“There’s no need to market locally right now. Our customers are clamoring at the gate. My wife is turning away 3-4 Airbnb requests on a daily basis.

Our issue this summer is not going to be visitation. There’ll be plenty of it. Our issue is going to be capacity. How do we handle summer crowds if the restaurants can only take half the customers, if the trolleys can only take half the passengers, if the Red’s Meadow shuttle is canceled, if there is no Whitmore Pool, no summer camps … “

Observation #1: Stop blaming MLT for the crowds. MLT has nothing to do with it. And as instructed, MLT is putting out messaging telling people to recreate responsibly. MLT is doing its job – nothing more, nothing less.  

Observation #2: If you want to point a finger regarding the Town’s utter unpreparedness for the moment, the clear culprit is Mammoth Lakes Town Council. That’s the ultimate decision-making body. They were warned this was going to happen, and have done nothing. NOTHING. 

This week, a citizen named Nikki Rae Jepsen collected 2,000 signatures from concerned community members and approached MLT, advocating it devote $120,000 of its budget immediately to resort management. 

MLT’s response: We’ll dole out the $14,000 we’re saving by the Welcome Center NOT operating to fund two trail hosts at 20 hours a week each for ten weeks. 

What a lackluster, shitty response. I mean … that ball was teed up so nicely. Why do we have to sit there and spend the next month talking about club selection? Why is it so hard to just hit it? 

Nikki Rae for Town Council, btw. Deadline to file papers is Friday at 5 p.m. … 

Here’s what really needs to happen over the next four weeks minimum. We need four Visitor engagement sites at the Welcome Center, in front of Vons, at the corner of Forest Trail and Main near Kittredge Sports and in the Village at Mammoth. 

These sites need to be staffed from 9-3 daily. 

I imagine volunteer organizations like Lions and Rotary can staff two of the sites for a small fee, as most of our local fundraising opportunities (Pancake breakfast, et. al.) had to be canceled this year. These organizations would be eager to raise some money (which is donated back to the community anyway in the form of scholarships, etc.) 

And staffers from MLT, the Mammoth Lakes Chamber and/or the Town who are “working from home” can get off their asses and staff the other two sites. A shift or two a week.  

And you don’t need to be a marketing person to staff it. If a newspaper publisher and a politician can do it, ANYONE can do it. 

Heck, even a Town Manager or an Executive Director or a Police Chief could do it. curiosity got the best of me this week, so I decided to park a desk and a chair at the path leading from the parking lot to the Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center on Thursday morning. Daughter Margaux created a coll “Need Help?” sign for me the night before, and I wore my Mammoth Lakes Lions Club gear so that I’d look like a legit volunteer. 

And I sat out there from 9 a.m. ‘til noon and answered visitor queries the best I could. 

The Welcome Center and Mammoth Lakes Tourism offices are closed because of Covid. Meaning there is no physical “help” presence at Mammoth’s primary visitor entry portal. 

About halfway through my “shift,” Supervisor Stacy Corless (recused from the Tioga Inn hearing) and June Simpkins came by to help out.

I took notes regarding every visitor interaction, of which there were 39. 

Total number of visitors engaged: 86, though there were undoubtedly several more uncounted who stayed in the car while a designee asked the questions. 

Many were first-time visitors. 

None would have received any help otherwise. 

All were masked and polite. Every single one. 

One asked me about (it was either on a bumper sticker or a license plate frame) a message she’d read which went something like, “If you’re not a Mammoth local, go home.” 

I told her that some people who’ve lived here for all of five minutes – the first thing they want to do is slam the door so as to preserve what’s left for themselves. “Ignore it,” I said. “I’m glad you’re here. Just don’t camp illegally, litter or complain.” 

One couple asked for information about taking their nine grandchildren (some as young as 2) to Devils Postpile. 

Granddad then asked about Rainbow Falls – could he bring a stroller down there? How far was it? 

We told him it would be too much. He didn’t like the answer. I wonder if he went for it. 

Mammoth Lakes Tourism’s Emily Bryant swung by around 11:30 – she must have heard we were out there. She hauled out maps (the most common request) and Visitor Guides for us to distribute. 

Just so you know … Bryant is asthmatic and works remotely. She answers A LOT of calls because her cellphone is literally the default for MLT. When you call the Welcome Center, they give you MLT’s number. When you call MLT, it’s routed to Bryant’s cell. 

On a typical Sunday, she said she receives 150 calls. 

On Wednesday, she missed (and had to sift through and return) 75 calls because she was on the phone taking other calls. 

I want to pause briefly here to revisit part of my June 6 editorial before making a few observations:

“There’s no need to market locally right now. Our customers are clamoring at the gate. My wife is turning away 3-4 Airbnb requests on a daily basis.

Our issue this summer is not going to be visitation. There’ll be plenty of it. Our issue is going to be capacity. How do we handle summer crowds if the restaurants can only take half the customers, if the trolleys can only take half the passengers, if the Red’s Meadow shuttle is canceled, if there is no Whitmore Pool, no summer camps … “

Observation #1: Stop blaming MLT for the crowds. MLT has nothing to do with it. And as instructed, MLT is putting out messaging telling people to recreate responsibly. MLT is doing its job – nothing more, nothing less.  

Observation #2: If you want to point a finger regarding the Town’s utter unpreparedness for the moment, the clear culprit is Mammoth Lakes Town Council. That’s the ultimate decision-making body. They were warned this was going to happen, and have done nothing. NOTHING. 

This week, a citizen named Nikki Rae Jepsen collected 2,000 signatures from concerned community members and approached MLT, advocating it devote $120,000 of its budget immediately to resort management. 

MLT’s response: We’ll dole out the $14,000 we’re saving by the Welcome Center NOT operating to fund two trail hosts at 20 hours a week each for ten weeks. 

What a lackluster, shitty response. I mean … that ball was teed up so nicely. Why do we have to sit there and spend the next month talking about club selection? Why is it so hard to just hit it? 

Nikki Rae for Town Council, btw. Deadline to file papers is Friday at 5 p.m. … 

Here’s what really needs to happen over the next four weeks minimum. We need four Visitor engagement sites at the Welcome Center, in front of Vons, at the corner of Forest Trail and Main near Kittredge Sports and in the Village at Mammoth. 

These sites need to be staffed from 9-3 daily. 

I imagine volunteer organizations like Lions and Rotary can staff two of the sites for a small fee, as most of our local fundraising opportunities (Pancake breakfast, et. al.) had to be canceled this year. These organizations would be eager to raise some money (which is donated back to the community anyway in the form of scholarships, etc.) 

And staffers from MLT, the Mammoth Lakes Chamber and/or the Town who are “working from home” can get off their asses and staff the other two sites. A shift or two a week.  

And you don’t need to be a marketing person to staff it. If a newspaper publisher and a politician can do it, ANYONE can do it. 

Heck, even a Town Manager or an Executive Director or a Police Chief could do it.