Day 3: A Driving Day

Today was a driving day.  We packed up the Jeep and were on the road by 8:00 AM, for the three hour drive to Mariposa where the hotel is located.  Along the way to Mariposa we stopped at Casa de Fruta, a roadside attraction that sells fruits, nuts, jellies, and pomegranate wine.  The also had very squawky  peacocks walking around. We picked up some pomegranate juice and wine.   We also made a quick stop in Los Banos at a McDonald's/Gas Station/Convenience store to pick up some Gatorade and use the bathroom.  We made it into Mariposa around 11:30 AM so we stopped for lunch at a little dinner then went to up to hotel to see if we could check in.   Sadly there were no rooms ready yet, so we got back into the Jeep and dove another hour to Yosemite NP.  

Along the Drive (Cell Phone Camera)

The road to Yosemite has several curves and downhills with 7% grades. We ran into one ‘detour’ which routed us across the river briefly due to a rockslide covering the normal road.  Getting into the park was easy,  but we didn’t stay long due to traffic.  We got into the park and on to the road leading to Yosemite Valley which is a one way loop road which seemed all well and good. So we stopped briefly at the El Capitan and Bridalveil Falls viewing areas, took some pictures and walked around a bit.  We then got back into the car intending to continue on our way to the visitor center. We hit traffic, so much traffic that we ended up a standstill for a while.  So we decided not to go all the way to the visitor center, but take the loop exit and head back out of the park.  Apparently there was no parking at the visitor center anyway.   We made the hour drive back out of the park, stopping at a gas station fill up, and then back to the hotel where we could finally check in.  After settling into the hotel we walked around the historic portion of the town, got some dinner at the local pizza place, then decided to call it a day.

Ribbon Falls and part of El Capitan (Cell Phone Camera)

Tomorrow we will be getting up early, so we can beat the crowds into the park.  Hopefully that plan will work.