A Father's Day Journey
Thanks MJ - You're a sweetheart - :thumbsup
As both my children were busy with their own families - and thus had their own Father's Day activities, I made my own plans for the day. I knew that they had finally opened Tioga Road over the Sierras into Yosemite National Park last week, so I decided to take a drive over to the Valley Floor - it's about 105 miles from my house to Yosemite Village. We had a record snowfall in the Sierras this year, so I knew that the waterfalls in the Valley would be spectacular with so much snow still in the high country.
It was a beautiful, clear morning, so I left about 7 am in the GT and drove to the top of the pass, where the entrance station is located. Seeing some friendly familiar faces in the entrance shack (who gave me a little static - just like the guys on the forum), I entered the Park, meandering through the snowbanked sides of the highway. It seemed like a perfect day to do a mini photoshoot of the GT, so I stopped frequently to evaluate the shooting opportunities in my favorite background area.
I finally got down to the Valley about 11 am, and drove to Curry Village, stopping and parking the GT in the lot. I went to the cafeteria there, and had a croissant and a cup of coffee for breakfast on the sundeck, the temperature somewhere between 75 and 80° F. I called my kids from the sundeck, wishing them a "Happy Father's Day" and then drove down the road next to the Merced River which was closed to rafting, as it looked like the Kern River (for those who have heard stories about the dangerous Kern!). A lot of the valley looked like a swamp and the river was up to the edges of its banks. The falls (Yosemite, Bridalveil, Ribbon, Cascades, etc) were absolutely stunning - I've seen them full before, but never fuller than today).
I drove west along the Merced R. all the way to the entrance station at El Portal, then turned around, made my way back to Big Oak Road, rose out of the Valley and headed east on the Tioga Road. Once over the pass and down the eastern escarpment to US 395, and had a lunch at "Whoa Nellie's Deli", then headed south, arriving home about 3 pm. (Nothing like a "RED" GT for great contrast!!)
Wish you had been with me - :thumbsup
Here are some photos of my journey - - -
Picture 1 - A full Tuolumne River - by the campgrounds at the east end of Tuolumne Meadows
Picture 2 - Water cascading onto the highway
Picture 3 - Tenaya Lake, still frozen over most of it's surface
Picture 4 - A marmot, at Ohmsted Point
Picture 5 - A wet road, sometimes a little icy in the shade of the early morning
