After a wonderful dinner at a local hamburger & wing place in Mammoth Lakes, CA we set up camp for the night in the back of the Roaring Glacier (4Runner). We knew good sleep was crucial as we wanted to be up before the sun again this morning, chasing the road to Yosemite National Park. The original plan had been to camp in Yosemite for the night but unfortunately the campgrounds were full. We weren’t the only ones with such a fabulous idea! All worked out well as Mammoth Lakes proved to be a welcoming mountain town reminding us a lot of home. However one thing was vastly different from home: gas prices (See picture below).
The morning came fast and we were eager to hit the road to Yosemite in hopes of seeing both the sunrise and early morning wildlife out for breakfast. As we trekked into the park we drove over Tioga Pass in awe of the scenery surrounding us. Mountain sides lined with tall trees, bustling rivers and large grey boulders kept us awake and anxious for more. With every bend in the road came a new scene and we both know why Yogi Bear calls this place home. It’s beautiful! After a little while in the car and several pictures later, we came across a wide open prairie hosting a family of deer for a morning graze. As we pulled over to snap a picture they willingly posed for us. As they continued with their routine of drinking river water and nibbling mountain grass awe stared in amazement of their grace and addition to the park.
We continued to drive through the park stopping often for opportunities to capture the scenery on film. A boulder field on the right, a lake on the left, a river straight ahead and all of the above behind us created a morning we will never forget. We knew that if we kept stopping to take pictures we may never make it to our next 2 stops (San Francisco & wine country). Well, we did stop for one more picture-a breathtaking waterfall right on the side of the road. This would be the last stop in the park that day as Ashley soon realized after leaving the waterfall that her Iphone was missing! A quick turnaround to the waterfall turned out to be unsuccessful as the Iphone was nowhere to be found. Hopefully the truck that passed us while looking for it had picked it up….no such luck. The ranger station was less then helpful as Nita predicted a week before the lost & found department would know anything about the lost item. Ashley still has hopes that the phone will show up but until then….call Clayton’s phone to reach her!
After a beautiful ride down the pass and out of the park the adventurers pit stopped in a small CA town nestled next to the road and successfully changed the ever important deck fuse in the Roaring Glacier. We then set forth over the rolling hills (while we jammed to some awesome tunes—THANKS CHELS!) of California in hopes of finding a tasty lunch they had been craving for months…InNout! 2 cheeseburgers animal style with 2 root beers filled the empty stomachs and fueled them towards the Golden Gate City. Driving into San Francisco required much patience as the crazy California drivers weaved in and out (no pun intended) of our path. First the Bay Bridge then into the city! We had a short list of destinations that ended up taking roughly 2 hours as the narrow, hilly, and tourist loaded streets of San Francisco slowed us down. Well worth it as we shimmied our way down Lombard street, got a peek of Alcatraz and cruised by AT&T park in hopes of bringing good karma to the Rockies on their next road trip. We finished our mini tour of San Francisco as we ventured over the Golden Gate Bridge through the fog. A beautiful site as part of the fog lifted right as we were exiting the bridge. We quickly stopped at a view point to see the city from the other side of the bridge but realized the traffic to Sonoma Valley was building quick…let’s hit the road!
Wine country was worth the wait in traffic. We found ourselves spontaneously choosing a vineyard to visit. Although they all looked the same we knew the experience in each would be different. We turned into Imagery Winery, one neither of us had heard of. It was 4 o’clock and they closed at 4:30! Hopefully we will get a taste of something good! Indeed we did. An array of wines from a Rose to a Blueberry Red Wine hit the spot. On our way out of the winery to our hotel we followed a tree covered, vineyard lined, winding road….a much more relaxing route after a day on the busy California streets. We settled into a hotel for the night as we might not see a real bed for a few more nights. The hot shower felt nice but not nearly as nice as the sushi down the road-and yep we ate quail egg. Surprisingly yummy paired with fish eggs! As we sit in the hotel room we are planning ahead as much as we can. Our next destination includes the amazing Redwood Forest. We will be camping there tomorrow amongst the giant trees before we head to Oregon and Washington.
Total miles for the day: 302.4
Miles per gallon: 21.8
The Beautiful Three.
Thank you Stellar Brew for hosting us while we caught up on internet things! (in Mammoth Lakes)
!!! We decided to only get a couple gallons !!! (Mammoth Lakes)
Our bed for the night. Take that bears.
Biggest pinecone ever.
Rise and Shine! Sunrise on one side of the street....
while the moon sets on the other....absolutely spectacular!
Morning fog across a road side lake in Yosemite.
Is that Yogi Bear on top of that mountain?
This guy was such a camera lover. We were about 10 feet from him.
Heading back to the woods after their morning drink.
Yosemite makes us look really little...this place is huge!
"If this was eternity and these roads never ended I would be ok with that"-Clayton @ Yosemite
Bear hug.
The sun has decided to join us for the day!
Even through a stone, a flower can bloom.
Exact spot where the Iphone was last seen. RIP.
Lost. Iphone. Hopefully non one claims it as theirs.
At last!
"Only the cool people order off the secret menu"*-Clayton
*google inNout for details
The Bay Bridge connecting Oakland to San Francisco. We were driving westbound. Eastbounders were driving under us...crazy!
Go Rockies.
The view of San Francisco from the top of Lombard Street.
We made our way down...5 mph.
We <3 Walgreens!
Alcatraz in the distance.
The first tower on the bridge!
The fog is starting to lift by the time we hit the 2nd tower!
We tried to find the Full House crew....no luck.
Admiring the bridge....are they building a road for the south bound traffic to drive underneath the northbounders?
Imagery Winery only sells their wine at the Vineyard...
Even though it looks like they have plenty to share!
The winery lizard.
Beautiful and relaxing scenery.
Zoom Zoom go all the vineyards!
Can't get the good stuff with out these!
The road out of winery land that led us home for the night.
No comments:
Post a Comment