Karen, John, and Jade hanging out on the patio of their home, parked south of Coarsegold, CA.
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We stopped at the market in Coarsegold. Karen hoped for veggies, given the pumpkin vines. No such luck. It was mostly a junque mart. But there was an espresso stand.
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We stopped at another "Saturday Market" just north of town. No veggies. But our choice of bidets!
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I set up my dash cam to do a time-lapse zoom around the winding roads at 30x natural speed. Given about 25mph actual, that'll be about 750mph. Dizzying.
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Yes, road work, as described yesterday. Actually, they take Saturday off. That's the biggest visitor volume day.
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Welcome to Yosemite. That'd be $20 to get in. But we'd bought an $80 annual inter-agency pass, good for all National Parks, Forests, and Recreation Area sites. But not state parks.
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The sign to the visitor center at Yosemite, just up those stairs, and down a path.
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A snapshot from the historic village at Yosemite. The bridge is about 150 years old, and handles horse traffic as well as ever.
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New road, without lines or guardrails. Great view, but don't drift off the pavement!
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The driver is allowed to appreciate the view.
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I saw this hiker jump from the wall, and had to stop at the next pull-out. It turned out to be a choice of walking in traffic at a blind curve, or on a wall with a 40 foot or better drop on the other side. Good view, though.
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Karen peers over the nice, tripping-height guardrail at some falls. Not for the vertigo squeamish.
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Karen, back before the ground drops away and attempting to lure me off that dangerous wall, asks if I'd seen the view...
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Yes, I saw the view. But now I was more aware of the traffic zooming by a foot behind me, and the drop to a ledge 40 feet down, and then to bounce the rest of the way.
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As an engineering-minded fellow, I appreciate these recessed reflectors. They will not be scraped off by snowplows, and also add a rumble indicator to rubbernecking lane drifters.
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Our first sight of snowy mountains on this trip.
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The famous Half Dome seen from way up route 120, near the tree line.
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A lookout showing snowy mountains, and a high lake.
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We're finally up with the snow.
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Mountains reflected in a snow-rimmed lake, almost up to the pass, and Eastern entrance to the park.
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Taking that last picture. Yes it was cold, but I was only out of the heated car for a few minutes.
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And out of Yosemite we go.
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Passing a boarded-up for the season facility on the way down the mountain.
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Shadows getting long on the winding roads.
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As I learn more about geology, I appreciate more how that patch of basalt got into this granite mountainside. We are not that far from the upturned western edge of the North American plate.
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One of the skimpiest guard rails, yet.
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In person, the glittering water coming from the spigot was magical. Or maybe it was the altitude.
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Really?
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We'd planned to spend the night in Lee Vining, CA on the shores of Lake Mono. But the whole town was sold out. I should find out more about this lake, so evocative of Crater Lake.
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But we saw some cool views as we headed north and uphill in the fading day. Here I am on another edge to try and capture one.
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How did this chicken cross U.S. Highway 395 in a 65 mph zone? Carefully.
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Sunset was nice. But driving on new, narrow roads without lines in the dark at interstate speeds with oncoming trucks was nerve racking. We stopped at a cluster of lights we saw across a lake, just over the Nevada border.
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The Lake Topaz Casino was now a Super 8. We got a room with a lake view. Or so they said. It was dark. But after a nice dinner, Karen got to feed the slots while I published the previous day.
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One claim to fame of Lake Topaz and the Casino/Resort is this over 13½ pound trout. Not my kettle of fish, but I can see the pride. There were other fish displays, and also quite a collection of scale model coaches and wagons.
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