If you use your imagination, you can make out the outline of a mammoth with a long trunk and short legs. The building on the top of the mountain is the gondola station and restaurant at the ski resort. Mammoth Mountain, like many of the other mountains nearby, is an ancient volcano. Much of the rock in the area is pumice from early eruptions.
The second week of the trip we stayed at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in Mammoth Lakes, California. We stayed in a nice suite and had a great view of the mountain. During the summer the mountain is open for hiking and mountain biking. The gondola runs for visitors who want to go to the summit. I finally found out the night before we left why it is called Mammoth Mountain; if you look at the rock formation on the side of the mountain at the right angle, there is a "mammoth" figure visible. I outlined it in red in this photo.
The Panum Crater had a trail that went around the perimeter of the extinct volcano. We wanted to go to the guided tour at Mono Lake at short time later, so we didn't walk the entire trail.
