Yosemite and Bishop
caadoptees September 20th, 2008
Another post today!? It must be a sign of the apocalypse!
As mentioned in the previous post we had a trip planned to Bishop. Our niece was getting married on the 28th of June. We planned on taking the trailer anyway since there would be no place to stay at my sisters house. We thought we might stop off somewhere for a couple of days before. Six months before I started to get a reservation at Yosemite at 7am on the day the reservations for June opened. Well 10 minutes later the park was sold out! Ouch!
We took a road trip to Yosemite earlier and while I was there I talked to the reservations office. They told me if I was there the morning of the day I wanted to stay most likely I could get a spot on the valley floor. ‘Most likely’ didn’t give me a great sense of security. They also told me to keep checking online for cancellations. So starting then I would check online at least every 15 minutes when I was near a computer. I did this for about 3 weeks. I was getting nervous, not knowing where we would stay. Then I got a hit! A spot at Hodgdon Meadow for the two nights we were looking for! I thought about it for about 3 minutes and then took it. It wasn’t on the valley floor but it was near Hetch Hetchy. We had never been there. I stayed many years ago on the floor in a campground, but I don’t remember much.
So we were off to Yosemite! It takes a long time to get there from Visalia. It is just 120 miles but a lot of the drving is through the park, which is slow, but rightly so. We were assigned a huge spot that was not particularly level but we made it work. It was nice to watch all the tenters and be happy we didn’t have a tent anymore.
The next day we took a day trip to Hetch Hetchy. I have heard a lot about Hetch Hetchy and all the controversy but had never been there. It is a very beautiful place, unfortunately we went when all the forest fires were going. We came to the main gate and were asked our plans and given a placard to take and return when went back out. They also recorded our license plate. You could not stay past dusk either. When we got to the dam I asked a ranger about all these ‘measures’ and if it was for the security of the dam. He said it was. He also told me some things about the things done to the dam. Look at this picture:
Hetch Hetchy Dam
To the upper left of the spillway you can see some large white blotches. Someone painted “John Muir” there. There is also a jagged white area, someone painted a fake crack to scare people. The whole area is very beautiful with some large cliffs and falls. Here is a poor picture due to the smoke:
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
It is always fun to go somewhere you have never been to. The next day we went somewhere that we have been before, Glacier Point. The view of the valley there is fantastic, especially if you look straight down! I remember the firefall that happened many years ago when I was a child and asked a ranger where the drop point was. Nice to reminisce. Here is a photo of Roxie with Nevada and Vernal falls in the background (this shot is after I asked her not to squint):
Roxie with Vernal and Nevada falls
After our two nights in Yosemite we headed to Bishop via Tioga pass. It is such a beautiful place in the high country. We stopped off at Olmsted point, another never had done item. We got a good view of the back side of Half Dome and could see hikers going up the steps and cables with our binoculars.
Half Dome from Olmsted point
We made it to Bishop and wedding went well. The actual wedding was held on the shores of Convict Lake. Here is a shot:
Wedding at Convict Lake
We made the big loop on the way home, south on 395, we cut across by Lake Isabella, down the Kern river canyon then home. The worst part of any trip is the last leg home, it didn’t help that it was over 100 degrees! It was, overall, a good trip.
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