California

In Vegas the gas price was $2.85 put we decided to wait and fill up down the road. We drove until we had about ¼ tank of gas and stopped in Indian Springs where the price of gas was $3.42!!! Well with a 55 gallon tank of gas that was going to hurt…luckily there was the Creech AFB right there in Indian Springs so we entered and found the price of gas was $2.89.
 We continued west on highway 95 and decided to enter Death Valley National Park planning to spend the night at the Furnace Creek
campground there.  We drove through the park, stopping to get some pictures, and Ty got sick so this delayed us enough that we knew we would not make it to the Visitor Center before 5:00 pm.

We continued through Death Valley and missed our turn for the campground but once we came to a road to turn around it was 19 miles back and looking at the surrounding areas we decided it was not going to be a place we wanted to stay so we continued west through the Park, passing through Stovepipe, a town in the Park that had some lodging, a gas station and store and RV camping. It reminded me of those Western Movies where the towns are deserted except for a few people sitting outside the store and staring at you as you pass.

We continued west to get out of the park where we went from 5 miles below sea level in Stovepipe to 5,436 feet above see level through the mountains. Talk about burning a lot of gas! It seemed to go on forever and ever and for miles we were the only ones on highway 190 heading west. The road was very windy up through the mountains and sometimes quite scary looking over the side of the road. I was navigating and saw that the quickest way to get to Oakhurst, CA where we are going to stay for 3 nights near Yosemite south entrance was to head north on US 395 towards Bishop and through the Tioga Pass in Yosemite National Forest. We planned on stopping along the way for an overnighter at a Truck Stop or even a rest area and drove to Bishop where we stopped at a Kmart and Vons Shopping Plaza. There were other RV’s and trucks there so we parked there. As we were entering the Plaza, Bill spotted a road sign that said “chains required 39 miles ahead”. Well, I did not even think to check to see if the passes were open this time of year and as it turns out they aren’t! Great….so we drove over 60 miles north just to have to turn around and go back south to get around the High Sierra’s and head west through the south section of the Sequoia National Forest.

So the next day, we headed south then west, then North.  We have the GPS set to take us the shortest route...well it may have been the shortest but because it took us through the mountain range by Sequoia National Forest, it took us longer....a total of eight hours including a few very short stops we made along the way.   We enjoyed it as it was very scenic going by Lake Isabella and through meadows, sequoias and redwoods and snow in the higher elevations but we were ready to be there already!!!! 

 

We arrived at High Sierra RV Park in Oakhurst around 6:45 pm.

 

We got a late start the next day to head into Yosemite as we had to stop at a pet store and the Visitor Center in Oakhurst. There was also road construction in the park and we had to stop twice, the second time we waited close to ½ hour. Several people got out of their cars and started playing in the snow and taking pictures. The main attraction was the four Canadian guys with surfboards on top of their vehicle right in front of us who got out first and had a snowball fight, played a little soccer and then built a snowman on top of their surfboard. At least they were entertaining and the time went by quickly.

It was 2:00 pm. Before we got to Bridal Veil Falls where you walk a short distance to the bottom of the fall. Between the strong water flow and wind, we got pretty wet and it was about 57 degrees outside. Needless to say, we did not stay there long.

We proceeded through the park and visited more of the waterfalls, creeks and Yosemite Visitor Center.  It was 6:00 pm by that time and we started to head out of the park planning to come back and do a hike or two the next day.  The deer where out and about and a black bear was spotted in the meadow where a lot of people had gathered to watch it.

Then a mile or so down the road there were people looking up at El Capitan so we pulled over and got out to see what was going on.  There were six mountain climbers up the side of it and according to a Tour Guide it takes 4 to 6 days to climb it so these guys had been up there at least 2 to 3 days already!   You can see the tent and then above that are two climbers.  What a site!   Talk about extreme sports!

We returned to Yosemite today to see Mirror Lake and Lower Yosemite Falls.  It was a nice walk with the dogs to Mirror Lake.  In 2009 there was a rockslide so the road was closed on the other side.  We walked back along the Tenaya Creek among the redwoods and pine trees.  It was nice to be away from the hustle and bustle and the sound of the shuttle buses.

We then did a short walk to the lowerYosemite Falls.  The flow was strong and throwing off a mist.

As we walked through the forest near the Falls, there was snow still on the ground and a lot of fallen old trees like the one Ty is standing on.

 When we left it was starting to get overcast and colder. 

 Tomorrow we leave for Travis AFB near Sacramento.