Driving to Yosemite

September 21, 2006

Today was a challenging drive for daddy. We crossed over from Nevada into California through the Sierra Nevada. Some of these roads were one-lane sharp curves, where the side of the mountain almost hit the tow car. But it was amazingly beautiful. After miles and miles of nothing, we arrived at Bishop, Ca. This is a quaint town, with many services for travelers and Rv’ers, since there are so many recreational areas close by (Mammoth Mountain, Mono Basin, Yosemite, etc…). We decided to spend the night here and went out for dinner at the Whiskey Ranch Restaurant and Saloon. The food was amazing, and the service was great. This will definitely be a place we’ll come to again when we are back around here. Rick and I both loved this place.





September 22, 2006
Today we left Bishop, Ca and headed towards Lee Vining, Ca, just outside of Yosemite National Park. This has been one of the most beautiful drives yet. We can see the snow on the tops of the Sierra Nevada, and the lakes just below. The sides of the hills are covered in rocks and pine trees, and the air is crisp and clear. The road to Yosemite is well known for it’s steep grade and high altitude (9900 feet elevation), and sharp curves, so we have decided to set up camp in Lee Vining and drive the Aztec to the park.

Well, it turns out that we missed the exit for our campground in Lee Vining and had to continue driving
through the famous Tioga Pass, a windy road with deep cliffs that reaches a height of 9900 feet just before the entrance to Yosemite National Park. After some impressive driving by Rick, and some amazing maneuvering to park the rig in the campsite, we were finally settled. In this campground we had no hookups (electric, water or sewer), and the generator was only allowed to be on sparingly between 7am and 7pm. We decided that the best way to conserve power was to go to sleep early, and wake up with the sun.