TRAVEL BACK THROUGH YOSEMITE

After checking out of our A-frame Friday morning, Deanna and I decided to check out the town of Lee Vining for a late breakfast and gift shopping, then we headed back through Yosemite National Park.

The park is entered at Tioga Pass at 9,945 ft. above sea level - California's highest auto mountain pass. Ellery Lake is one of the first areas of beauty that you come to, a few miles down Rt. 120, after passing through the park entrance.

Rather than take the shortest route back through the park, we decided that we'd like to see Yosemite Valley this time. We weren't prepared to do any real hiking or spend the night, but we thought we'd check out whatever could be seen from the car or a short walk from the road.

Bridal Veil Falls (left), the Yosemite Chapel  and view from chapel parking lot (center and right) and Yosemite Falls (below)

The final stage in our adventure began after leaving Yosemite. Thanks to Cheri's goof-up with Microsoft Streets and Trips, we took about the longest route possible to visit a friend in Mariposa. We took Rt. 49 through Coulterville and Bear Valley. This scenic but crazy route included 6 miles of driving at a crawl over freshly graveled road, on the outside edge of a mountain, with no guard rails! We spent the night with my friend Paula, then continued our journey home on Saturday morning.

I hope you've enjoyed our story. I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to see and do all these things. More than anything, though, I will always treasure the time I got to spend with Deanna.