My hometown in Finland is a beautiful small city that has 8,000 citizens and amazing sights; hills, lakes, forests and rivers. That’s why it’s no wonder I fell in love with Mammoth Lakes at a first sight last weekend. I was so amazed, how different California can be, from the ocean to the mountains. I found a blog “Reissulla” (‘Traveling’ in English), which is all about Finnish couple Kimmo and Tiina traveling together through the United States. I contacted them and they invited me to visit Mammoth Lakes and Bishop, where they are staying for the spring. The trip was amazing! The best part was to visit Eureka Sand Dunes. They lie in the remote Eureka Valley, at 3,000 foot elevation located northwest of Death Valley. They are the tallest sand dunes in California, possibly the tallest in all of North America. The dunes cover an area only three miles long and one mile wide, and rise suddenly more than 680 feet above the dry lakebed at their western base. It really felt like I was an explorer in the Sahara, walking in the sand and writing text to send. What a beautiful place and I wish more Californians would visit that amazing place. Cross-country skiing isn’t as popular as downhill skiing and snowboarding, but luckily every day more people want to experience the great sport. In Finland, cross-country skiing is a big thing and that’s why I wanted to ski in Tamarack XC Ski Center with Tiina. At first it was really difficult because the center is located quite high (8,563 feet above sea level) and the air is thinner that I’m used to. After 20 minutes, I got used to it and we had a lovely trip. I think Mammoth Lakes is a state of mind. You have to have a lot of time, because without the rush, you can enjoy the scenes, sip some Moose dribble beer, bath in a hot spring and share a story with locals. Also, You never know, what is going to happen in Mammoth Lakes. We were on our way to hot springs, when we saw a car stuck in the middle of nowhere. A young person could had been stuck for hours, but with their Toyota, Kimmo pulled them out from the mud. The happy couple was saved and we had a story to tell. Adventure awaits! (I’m Hanna Laukkanen, a 26-year-old journalist, who moved from Finland to San Diego for an internship in San Diego Community Newspaper Group. In this blog I will compare Finnish and American lifestyles and try to find out a lot more about the Californian way of living. Please send me feedback at [email protected].)