Journey to Yosemite

---

Again needed another day in Vegas, i would have liked to gone to some of the other hotels, see the white lion and go down Freemont Street. Oh well, good excuse to come back! Today was our big drive day and we were determined to get to Yosemite before sunset but we had to do a detour to Death Valley on the way to experience the heat. Death Valley was as i had imagined and it was fun to watch the temperature creeping up the nearer we got to the valley. The highest we recorded was 48 Celcius and we got out and played around. It was quite windy and the wind was burning our legs. Picked up a few rocks which you just couldn’t hold they were so hot. We were cross that we forgot to bring some eggs to fry! I must admit i found the valley a bit scary as it was so desolate and i was scared that something might go wrong with the car, although apparently that is where all the car manufacturers test their cars to see if they can stand the extremes. I was glad when we got back on the main track. The scenery on the journey was mostly desert (but still no cacti) until we got to near Yosemite and then it started getting greener and woody. We made it to Yosemite about 2 hours before sunset and got to Olmstead Point to catch the view of the half dome. Saw a little animal we thought was a mouse but it turned out to be a Pika which is a bit like a Chinchilla. The views over Tenaya lake as the sun was setting were beautiful and i got some great photos. The rest of the journey was in the dark but we went through quite a few forests so hopefully did not miss too much. Arrived at our hotel, Yosemite View lodge which was on the other side of the park, just in time for dinner which closed at 10.00. Had a lovely BBQ chicken which came with soup and salad bar. The restaurant was very old American. Our lodge was nice and included a Kitchenette and a balcony with a view which looked up to the mountains.

---