Yosemite National Park - the jewel in the Californian Crown

Looking up amongst the pines at Lower Pines campground, Yosemite Village.
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We left Bishop, our previous stop, early.  I say early, because, for some reason, the good townsfolk of Bishop, CA, let off what could only be described as an air-raid siren.  At 6:00 am, sharp.  If you've ever slept through your clock-radio, the phone ringing, perhaps the garbage truck, well let me tell you that is nothing compared to an air-raid siren.  There is no going back for a snooze after a noise like that.

So we got away an hour earlier planned - and immediately began climbing again, before getting to the gateway town of 'Lee Vining'.  It should be renamed to 'tourists moaning' because all the gas stations in town were charging 4.00 a gallon for gas - that's nearly up to the price we pay in Australia...  Just because they are the last stop before one of the most popular National Parks in the country, they decide to price gouge everyone who comes along.  Well I say phooey to you Lee Vining.  There you go, a public name and shame.

The most beautiful spot you'll ever find. Money back guarantee.

Meadow and Lake at the Tioga Pass, Yosemite NP
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Straight after Lee Vining you start climbing up the Tioga Pass, the highest road pass in North America, which tops out at close enough to 10,000 feet.  That's 3,000 metres in the new money.   Or, put it like this : Mt Kosciosko with Mt Beerwah stuck on top of it.  And that's just where the road goes- the surrounding peaks are much higher again.

It was absolutely stunning at the top - at such altitude you'd expect anything but the weather that we got - cool temperatures with warm sun, a light breeze and not a cloud in sight.  It was eye-wateringly beautiful - the sky a much brighter blue than you've ever seen, squirrels jumping around the meadows, stately eagles soaring on the breeze.   Truly a memorable place to stop and have morning tea.

The Merced River
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We then started the descent from there into Yosemite Valley, which is the most famous (and arguably most picturesque) part of the National Park.  The road winds around for 60 miles until you descend right into the mouth of the valley, and are confronted with one of the most stunning views you'll see anywhere.

We drove along the valley floor until we got to our campsite, which is right up the end underneath the watchful eye of 'Half Dome' - the huge granite monolith presiding over the valley.   Because of the early start we actually arrived before lunch so we sat there in the shade of the towering pines munching away.   Then we caught the shuttle bus back into the village to see when we could catch the bus to Glacier Point.  Only to find out that we missed it by half an hour.  So we caught the shuttle bus back to the camground, piled back into Shep the Mountaineer, and did a two hour round trip to Glacier point.  I told my crew that it was a long drive, but they should trust me one last time, as it was worth it.

The Chappies at Glacier Point (patented photo spot)
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We finally arrived at Glacier Point, and the view was stunning as I knew it would be on such a clear day, and in the afternoon so the sun was shining up the valley.  The photos' speak for themselves.   I actually ended up with a bit of a cottage industry taking other people's photos for them, after I lined up Mum and Dad, crouched down and took the photo so it looked like they were standing on top of a mountain with the valley behind them (which they were, but the trick was excluding all the 500 other tourists).  So after about 5 or 6 photo requests and no dollar-note tips the better for it, I made hasty my retreat and went back to do the hour-long descent back down again.

Half Dome in the Merced River
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Finally we arrived back in the campground, and this time it felt more natural as we were pulling into position in the afternoon.  John would then declare the bar open and the sound of beer cans going 'phsst' in the afternoon would echo amongst the pines.    We again cooked dinner over the fire pit, and sat around and watched shooting stars skim through the top of the pines.  Again we all decided that life was good.