We left Lee Vining early in the morning - it helps when you go to bed early and then get awakened by the trucks rumbling by. Tioga Pass actually opened two weeks ago, but then closed again when we got the latest snowstorms in May. It just reopened last Thursday, so our timing was impeccable.
Driving up CA 120 just brings you from one magnificent view after another. You can get some idea by looking at the photos with the link below. The lakes were all crystal clear and frosty cold! All the streams were running full and the waterfalls were beautiful. Even the meadows were full of water. We drove up Tioga Pass and entered Yosemite at an elevation of 9945'. You can see why this road is closed through the winter.
We were lucky with our early start because we didn't encounter much traffic. Not easy to pass with all the winding roads and especially with the sightseer's (count us among them), pulling over every couple of minutes to admire the views. Lots of campgrounds, but a lot of them weren't open yet because of all the snow on the ground. Hiking trails were the same, but people were finding ways to explore the back country.
Drove across the Sierra Nevada and then doubled back a little ways in order to enter Yosemite Valley where the majority of tourists go because of all the sights in such a relatively small area. It was fun seeing Yosemite Falls flowing freely and the weather was fantastic. We started out at 55 degrees in Lee Vining and it was 75 in Yosemite Valley. We won't talk about the 103 degrees we hit when we entered the San Joaquin Valley - more on that later. Stopped at the Ah Wah Nee Hotel for breakfast - it's such a magnificent structure and the service matches the surroundings - real old school. You all probably know about the contretemps with the old names being claimed by the previous concessionaire who lost the current contract. As a result they had to rename (temporarily) the old sites - so the Ah Wah Nee became the Majestic Yosemite Hotel and there were various other name changes. Sat on the patio outside the hotel and enjoyed the sun and fantastic view.
We drove out by El Capitan and wanted to explore Yosemite Falls, but it was just getting too crowded - couldn't find parking spaces and we didn't want to get involved with the shuttle bus service, so we headed out of Yosemite. Followed the Merced River down through El Portal and on through the foothills to Mariposa. When we came out of the foothills into the San Joaquin Valley, the temperature was well over 100 degrees. We had come from over 8000 feet to about 197 feet at Merced and the temperature went up as the elevation came down!
After checking in at the Best Western in Merced, we decided to check out local golf courses. Ended up at Pheasant Run Golf Course in Chowchilla, CA about twenty miles south of Merced. Needless to say, we only played nine holes - too hot to play any more. Back to Merced and dinner at Applebee's - not very local, but good food.
Tomorrow we head to Monterey - should be interesting because of the route I've chosen. We'll let you know how it turns out - stay tuned.
Check out the pictures below for our trip from Lee Vining to Merced.
https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=818E29B8DE16F57A!10141&authkey=!ALKCKEfs_uC-Gow&ithint=folder%2cJPG
No comments:
Post a Comment