Local Life
local musician
PETE WATERCOTT
(AKA Fiddlin’ Pete)
WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO
MAMMOTH?
I first came to work with the California
Division of Forestry in 1972. I remember my
first visit to Mammoth later that winter
in the area. If Kathryn and I are celebrating
. It
was a big snow year and the snow was piled
something really special, the Restaurant at
high on either side of the street. No place to
Convict Lake is our first choice!
walk but with the traffic! I was with some
friends and looking for a place to “sit in” and
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT?
play my fiddle. Jerry, from Buffalo, N.Y
Great Bishop tap water. Good neighbors that
.,
called me “Fiddlin’ Minnesota,” so that was
look out after each other. The mountains,
how I eventually became known as Fiddlin’
the blue sky, the open public lands that are

Pete. I remember playing with a group at
ours to preserve and enjoy! And I can’t live

Whiskey Jim’s Mammoth
without music, whether it’s a fiddle tune or
Tavern that night!
a song to sing, music and art bring joy and
WHY DO YOU STAY?
beauty into our lives.
In my first years here in the area I had the opportunity to work
and live at Bodie, and I also spent some time working up on the
CURRENT PROJECTS?
Pacific Crest
This summer marks the fifth season of Dinner Concerts at the
Trail. I spent a great summer working with the U.S.
Forest Service out of Bridgeport, Calif. All the time I was playing
Pokonobe Lodge on Lake Mary. The dates are July 5 and 19, Aug.
my fiddle for dances, weddings, parties and so on, so I made many
9 and 23, and Sept. 6. Call me to make a reservation 760-873-4616.
friends up and down Highway 395! After a few years I just felt
July 8 through 12, I will be performing with my old friend,
more “at home” here in the Eastern Sierra than anywhere else!
Larry Long, at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Woody’s
Now
hometown of Okemah, Okla. Larry and I will be celebrating the 20-
, more than 30 years later, I enjoy living here as much as ever!
This is truly one of the most beautiful places on the planet!
year reunion of a show we did together in Okemah with students
from the local schools back in 1989. Back then, Larry worked
FAVORITE PLACES TO GO?
with the students who wrote songs in the tradition of Woody
So many great places, makes it hard to choose. There is an
Guthrie, and then put together the first ever tribute to Woody in
adventure of discovery up every trail and in every canyon! On the
his hometown! Get more information about the Woody Guthrie

busiest of holiday weekends, it is easy to find places where it seems
Festival at www.woodyguthrie.com.
no one else has been in many years. When friends visit, we like to
Aug. 4 through 8 is the Sierra Summer Festival, featuring
take them to Eureka Sand Dunes and Death Valley, the Bristlecone
the Eastern Sierra Symphony Orchestra under the direction of
Pine Forest, kayaking on the Owens River
maestro Bogidar Avramov. This season’s theme is “Vive La
, down into Reds
Meadow, Devils Postpile, and Rainbow Falls,
France!” and will feature French composers, along with our
Tuolumne Meadows,
Mono Lake and Bodie.
very American composer, George Gershwin’s much-loved Tone
Poem, An American in Paris. Tuesday, Aug. 4, will feature
IDEAL DAY OFF?
a concert highlighting the music of Gypsy jazz guitar great,
Now that I am retired from my day job, every day can be a day off,
Django Reinhardt. I am the festival’s chairman this season. www.
so that is just unbeatable! Of course, the mid-week days are always
sierrasummerfestival.org.
the quiet and less crowded times no matter what activity you are
Sept. 13, Larry Long, and I, along with many friends, will be
pursuing.
boarding the “California Zephyr” in Chicago, and playing music all
the way out to Reno. There is still room on the music train! Check
BEST MEAL IN TOWN?
out my website for more information. Arriving just in time to
Both Kathryn, my wife, and I are professional cooks, so we have a
perform at the Millpond Music Festival (Sept. 18 through 20 www.

wonderful kitchen at home. On warm summer evenings, we like to
inyo.org) back home in Bishop!
entertain in our beautiful backyard. There are many great restaurants
Of course, you can always stay up to date with what I am up to
by going to my website: www.fiddlinpete.com.◆
42 July | August 2009 Mammoth Sierra Magazine
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