Judy Carland

Robust Cheetah was quick and sturdy. Judy Carland smelled like mandarins and was full of empty water bottles. Last year I travelled through America with five other Australians, two rental cars and a notebook full of recommendations. It was when we were near Yosemite National Park that I realized that booking accommodation last minute wouldn’t work in this instance. I was desperately trying to find a camping site within the park but as it was peak season, no amount of luck or phone calls would get us in. I almost got us a spot in the ‘campers with horses’ area, but when they realized our horsepower was less neigh and more vroom, we had to start looking elsewhere. By chance, we found a campsite nearby. Oh Ridge Campsite within Inyo National Park. It was a bunch of sites overlooking a massive lake, surrounded by mountains. Despite the chill in the air I couldn’t resist the water. My friends yelled and laughed at me, this crazy person who dove into a lake with all of her clothes on, while a family in matching jumpers watched from the shore. I floated on my back and looked at the sky, drifting out. Afterwards, we traipsed back through the shrubs (a scratchy shortcut) and didn’t realize we had wandered into another group’s camping area. We apologized and started to leave them, but they stopped us, and asked about our accents and travel plans. They were a Californian couple taking a few days out from LA to visit this serene spot. They made us promise that we would visit the local hot springs, and later that evening we did. We drove between mountains and fields, followed by the unwavering sun and the determined breeze. When we got to the Springs, we were warned about scalding water in this shallow stream. We walked along a hilly path, prickles on the ground reminding us that we were off the beaten path. The water was muddy and chilly, until someone kicked up the sand nearby and a rush of hot water raced past all of us, everyone crying out in surprise and then splashing around and finding the hotspots. We left Hot Creek wrapped in towels, and bought sandwiches in the shop by the campsite. We spent most of that night sitting on the beach, swapping blankets and jumpers and stories. The next day we continued on our journey, but I wonder if we should have just stayed at June Lake all summer long.