Yosemite National Park

On Tuesday, July 13th, I left Novato, California to head home to Tucson. I wanted to go down 395, through the Sierra Nevadas. To do this, the only way I could get across them was to go through Yosemite National Park.

Wow.

I'd been to Yosemite once before, for three or four days during the summer of 2002, visiting a friend who lives there, and she'd taken me to all the wonderful natural destinations. This time I was to get to drive across CA-120, which is only open for 4 or 5 months of the year. This is also called the Tioga Road, which passes through Tuolumne Meadows. It's so breathtakingly beautiful that it's practically indescribable. It didn't hurt that the day was absolutely gorgeous. I took this picture myself!

Location: 195 miles from San Francisco, 315 miles from LA. 1169 square miles in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Visitor's Center: To get here, you must drive six miles on the 12-mile, one-way loop through Yosemite Valley, park, and take a short shuttle. There were a lot of people, but virtually no waiting. The Visitor's Center was busy, informative, and interesting. The movie was okay....I wanted more information than I actually got....so I can only say it was "okay."

Bookstore: This was a very nice bookstore, but a lot smaller than I expected. The children's section, where I always gravitate, was more than adequate but again, nothing special.

I especially enjoyed: The views. This vista, nearing the end of the Tioga Road, was one that I didn't want to leave. It's the backside, where I suspect many visitors never get to see.

I wish that I'd had more than just an afternoon there. Next time I'll stay overnight (probably in a bed, not in a tent, though the campsgrounds looked pretty tempting) and take a tour or two. And no, I won't be climbing Half Dome. At least not in this lifetime. Big sigh. Wish I could!