Yosemite Park

August 31, 2007

Left around 7:30am for Yosemite. The weather was sunny and very hot, and the traffic terrible!!! Got to the campground a little after noon. Doug not feeling well again, so spent the rest of the day reading up on Yosemite and deciding how to start our visit.

September 1, 2007

The day is again sunny and hot. It has been so hot and dry in this area that the fire warnings are at ‘Extreme’.

This park is beyond words, the pictures tell it all. The wonderful rock formations and views are just breath taking. We took the longest route today and it was well worth it. Put 180 miles on TT!! We are staying about 23 miles from the park, and then when you get to the park entrance it is another 25 miles to the visitors center.

September 2, 2007

Went back to the park today and took the trail that has the best view of Half Dome. If it had not been so crowded we would have stayed and just absorbed the scenery, but it was mobbed!! We knew it would be crowded, but we have been so spoiled with the other parks we have been in. Have decided that we will fly out sometime when there are not so many people, so we can really enjoy it. Put on about 150 miles today!!!


September 3, 2007

Today is Labor Day and we are just going to do some rock hunting and some local viewing. Not interested in getting into any crowds. Found some really great rocks and saw some great scenery. We are surprised at this part of the country. It is nothing but rocks and mountains and at this time of year VERY dry. The threat of fire is very high.

September 4, 2007

Today we went to the rock museum in Mariposa, learned a lot and then went rock hunting. Found some great local stuff and will be back tomorrow to get some Mariposite. This is the only place it is found and there is a great out cropping at the junction of route 49 and 132 in Coulterville, CA. Will return tomorrow when we have the equipment to collect it.

Weather is still beastly hot, but it does cool down at night.

September 5, 2007

Went to Hetch Hetchy, the dam in the Yosemite Park that is under a lot of controversy. It was very interesting and the scenery beautiful. We had not planned on going there, but so many people told us it was worth the trip that we did and were so glad. After the dam we went back to the site with the mariposite and tried to get some samples. We got more samples than I had expected, but would have loved to get a larger piece for the waterfall in the back yard. I was so excited to get the what I did.

September 6, 2007

We left for Sequoia Park today and had some mechanical problem. We are now in a Chevy parking lot waiting for parts. They were nice enough to let us park for the night in their yard and provide us with electricity. If anyone is in this area this is a great dealership and I would give them great ratings. The dealership is Stevens Chevrolet in Chowchilla, CA. They could not be more accommodating and helpful.

The weather is extremely hot, it was 111 degrees this afternoon!!!

September 7, 2007

Well, they got the RV running and we took off. Stopped for gas about 15 miles down the road and had a hard time getting started again!! Finally did, but the same problem started all over again!!! We hobbled back to the dealership and he is having trouble finding what is wrong. We are so glad that if we had to brake down it was here. The people could not be nicer or more accommodating. The local motel is letting me sit in their lounge and use their WiFi!!! Please pray the problem gets resolved so we can move on. I know if we did not have the reservations for the balloon festival we would probably head right home when the RV is fixed!!!

At least Doug is feeling better. He has had quite a time of it with the kidney stones.