We woke to a sunnier day in Yosemite Valley today. The view from our cabin was much more vivid and amazing.
We ventured up to the main dining hall and pulled up a plastic tray at the breakfast bar. We then hopped on a guided shuttle, that drove you all around the valley, stopping to check out the amazing views, trees and wildlife.
The views today were stunning - such a great day weatherwise, once again we've been blessed. The sub was so bright now you needed sunglasses outside as the snow was so bright.
We drove around the whole valley floor in 2 hours or so, checking out the major rock formations and waterfalls. Our favorite view though was Tunnel View. Spectacular. Once again, cue Jurassic Park theme. From this elevated position, you could look right over the valley, seeing the El Capitan rock wall, the Cathedral Mountains, Half Dome and both Bridal veil falls and Yosemite Falls. Unbelievable view!
We got back from the tour around midday, then checked out, got some road candy (as Americans say) and drove south.
The initial couple of hours drive was again tough, having to concentrate through the winding, snow covered, icy mountain roads. The visibility helped but hindered too, due to the stunning views drawing my attention at times.
Still, we made it safely out if the park. Was such a relief getting rid of the snow chains. We then started the long drive down along the Sierra Nevada to Death Valley. Our GPS system had us drive for a little under 6 hours.
The drive was pretty boring mostly, pretty mundane scenery. It started to get exciting however once we passed Bakersfield and headed up over the Sierra Nevada. It was now 5ish in the evening and the fading light made for some spectacular views back to the west over California. The highlight of the drive was when Phantom Planets, "California here we come..." shuffled it's way onto the iPod in the car. Was quite a spine tingling feeling singing along.
Driving through and over the mountains was quite harrowing. As darkness descended and we entered the valley on the otherside, I began to feel like we were really on the Great American Roadtrip. We were now in the desert, and had seen so much in a day. The snow abs ice of Yosemite, to the deserts reds and setting hues of purple, pink and orange!
The roads in the desert were so undulating, signs like Dips for the next 14miles were the norm. Sim struggled with the car sickness- I secretly Luke the dips. Going down the mountain ranges was scary though, you had to be in really low gear as the Dodge just wanted to take off. I must say it's quite a thrill driving through the desert.
We finally got in to Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley around 8ish. Was a quaint little desert-ranch vibe place. With a saloon bar, and motel style accommodation.
Dinner in the bar was actually really good - although we did go for prime rib and rib eye (it's pretty much a guarantee good meal here in the west)
Dessert in the desert was pretty amazing also, we shared a huge banana split with cream, nuts and both chocolate and caramel ice cream. Was monstrous, but we managed to finish it. I guess we did skip lunch.
That night I wandered out onto the verandah of our unit and gazed up into the clear night sky. Was great to be able to see the whole sky full of stars. The northern sky too- it's the first time I've actually really paid attention to it while I've been away. It's different but the same I guess from the southern sky. Still was pretty cool feeling.
Were looking forward to the desert tomorrow. Sweet dreams all.
- Blog from iMat
No comments:
Post a Comment