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Published: January 24th 2012
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Bags packed, engine revving we were keen to set off on the big road trip to Vegas, when the little, orange 'check oil' light came a flashing. A couple of quarts (yes another amercianism!) of oil later and we were traversing the Bay Bridge and heading towards Modesto and Fresno.
Modesto brought a refreshing coffee stop and a lovely, chatting barista by the name of Henry who gave us tips on our impending diversion to Yosemite. Yet another in a long line of great people we have met on our trip. More friendly help was required as we struggled to find our motel in Fresno and the people at the Great Western provided us with much needed internet access (free!) and air conditioning! We then had a night in another good motel though there was much hooting of train horns in the dark hours!
Refreshed, we were eager to make the short journey up to Oakhurst which is on the edge of the Yosemite N.P. when our avenging oil light blinked again and even more oil was not enough to satisfy it. So it was off to the car rental place and a garage to get sorted. More famed
US customer service was provided by Chad and Janice and we were off again but this time in new wheels - a big pickup no less to make us look even more diddy than we are!
So we arrived in style at our cabin-like home for two nights and were further replenished by a great steak at the Sweetwater Steakhouse and beers at El Cid (an amazing Mexican place) with the best tortilla chips and homemade salsa I've ever had! (Yes even after a steak, oops!). The bright, clear, starry night then guided us home for a peaceful night's sleep.
A bright, brisk morning greeted our journey to Yosemite itself through the sun-dappled twisty bends as the incredible sights awaiting us blinked through the trees. Entry to the park was only $20 for a week and $80 gets you entry for the whole year....unbelieveable.....
The first sight for us was the wondrous silence of Mariposa Grove which is a collection of trails through the Giant Sequoia forest. These trees are enormous and are up to 1,000 years old. We saw the Giant Grizzly whose scorched, blackened base is a testimony to its survival of the numerous fires
needed for the sequoias to propagate and thrive. Another fighter of the forest is the California Tree which has a tunned chopped through it as tourism was born in 1890. The tree is trying to heal itself by generating bark to bridge the gaping chasm which is an amazing to see. It was a truly magical and spiritual place to be due to the natural beauty and incredible quietness.
Slightly dazed and awed by the grove, our kidney-busting 20 min wait for the bus to the Ahwahnee Lodge brought us the reward of a lovely lunch of homemade soup and pulled pork sandwich (overlooked by the ever present guardian mountains) and the knowledge that we could walk to most places and not wait for the bus!!
We ventured on to the Lower Yosemite Falls which are a but a trickle as they are only be fed by last year's melted snow and there has not been enough snow yet this season. Still, a vista to behold. Having witnessed this natural history we then discovered the human history of the village and the native americans who once settled in this region and had to adapt their ways and civilisation
once the settlers came. We met Julia who still weaves in the old way as part of the exhibition and is in her 80s but still full of vim and vigour.
Our journey back from Yosemite was punctuated with a brief visit to Bass Lake which again due to the mild winter is almost completely dry. Seeing the bed of a lake is both weird and wonderful, and we enjoyed our crab dinner at home absorbing all of our Yosemite adventures.....
The day brought the last leg of the road trip to Las Vegas through rising temperatures and a long drive through the Mojave Desert. At the Nevada border, the rest stop with a hotel, rollercoaster and six casinos showed us what was to come - and we hadn't even got to Vegas yet!! Vegas then bounced into our consciousness with its bright lights, non stop activity and promises of riches to come and couldn't have been more different than Yosemite. But we looked forward to exploring it all and the opportunity of a trip to the Grand Canyon to top off our US experience......
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