Yosemeti

Howdy!
This report is coming in a bit late as we did not have internet access in Lee Vining.

Well, first things first. A happy birthday greeting to my kid sister!



The day started at Best Western in Mariposa. After a filling up on gas we headed directly for Yosemite. The breakfast at the Best Western was probably the worst we have had so far this trip, so we went straight in to Yosemeti Village for an early lunch. The weather was exceptional, with a clear and sunny sky, so for the first time this trip we changed into to shorts and toured the valley. Great stuff!

After a round trip of the valley floor, we headed for Glacier Point. A much longer drive than expected, especially since road works are going on at the moment. But we got there, and the view both on the way to and at Glacier Point is definitely worth the drive!

Half way on the walk out to the viewing point I heard a loud thunder. Could not place or understand what it was, but it turned out that it had been a rock slide on the wall facing the valley!



As we were leaving Glacier Point it was already 3 PM, so we headed straight for Tioga Pass, hoping to see everything before the sun went down. We just made it.

I guess fall is here and winter is on the way. We actually found snow along the road, and could see even more along the mountain sides. Talking to a local cowboy, it had rained in the area last week, and in the highest areas it had come down as snow. And if we can trust the Scotsman (now living in BC) the highest point on our trip today was actually 9945 feet (3300m) above see level. That’s passenger planes flying altitude!!!



Coming down from Tioga, we arrived at Mono Lake and Lee Vining were we are spending the night before taking on Death Valley on our way to Las Vegas. 

We did Yosemeti, well Mariposa to Lee Vining, in 8 hours today. We got to see lots of great stuff and took lots of pictures. But if I have any recommendations for people planning to go there, it is to make it a two day experience! We made it, but just barely. And we do feel that to get a better feeling of and have more impressions when you leave, you should take on at least a couple of hikes, to smell, see and feel the amazing environment just outside your car door!

All the pictures -->