Highs and lows, cruise control and the open road

Not quite as quick out of the door as yesterday, - well, Steve had to do the washing up from breakfast, and the night before (baked beans on toast with scrambled egg!) - but still not bad considering we’re on holiday! Seven forty and we’re up the road, back toward Yosemite, but thanks to Paul, a skydiving friend from our Topcliffe days, we had changed our minds about biking and decided to head up to Glacier Point, THE viewing point apparently for Half Dome and Yosemite Valley. Had we not been delayed in SF, we would have done that on Tuesday afternoon, but had moved on to other plans, thinking it wouldn’t now fit with the schedule; so glad we had a rethink! And so glad we got there early. Actually I was a bit nervous about driving up there, thinking we were going to the back of beyond, and we’d be all isolated and alone; what a stupid ninny! This is Yosemite we’re talking about, you know! There were plenty cars in the massive car park when we arrived at 9.40 but still there didn’t seem to be many about, which was perfect - this is a place of quite magical beauty, and should most definitely not be spoiled by the presence of mortals. 

Half Dome is spectacular as you walk up the little path, but nothing quite prepares you as you take your first look over the railing, down into the valley about 3000ft below. An involuntary OMG escaped me before a sharp intake of breath. Quite out of this world. 

We drank it all in. On leaving, around 10.50 because we knew we had a fair drive in front of us (quite how fair we didn’t yet appreciate!), the road up there was fairly streaming with the stay-in-beds.

Our route over to Death Valley, our next overnight stop, was via the Tioga Pass, one of the few roads over the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges. It’s only open for 4 months of the year as it rises so high, over 9500ft, that it gets covered in snow. I was quite apprehensive about this drive, too, imagining it to be hugging the edges of cliffs, but not so. What a beautiful, beautiful drive, with plenty other cars around for comfort! Many photos were taken through the window and windscreen, and I lost count of the ooohhs, and aaahhhs and Oh my goodnesses that were uttered. Steve said he’d kill me if I said, ‘Oh it’s just ……… ‘, and left it hanging like that, one more time! 

Because we had such bad internet at the last place, no complaints, I hadn’t been able to check the maps and plans I had made way, way back when I organised this trip, and I couldn’t say how long it would take us to get to the turn-off point, or how long it would take us to get all the way down to Furnace Creek. Our paper map was pretty thin on details, and certainly gave no idea of scale. GPS and cell phone coverage was non-existent, so we just had to keep driving :-) 

When we got to Lee Vinning, our turn off onto the I395, we stopped for lunch, supplies, more fuel, AND WE WORKED OUT HOW TO PUT THE TOP DOWN!!!!!!! We had to sit the cases on the back seats - very flash! - because there’s no room in the boot for the top to retract into otherwise. But did we feel cool? Yes we did!! 

Well, actually we got quite hot and had to put it back up after about 2 hours, because otherwise we’d have needed more sunblock! By this time I’d got coverage on my cell phone and had successfully discovered that it was going to take us another 3 and a half hours !!!!!!! to get to our destination! Hey, it’s about the journey, not the destination, and what a journey it continued to be. Constantly changing vistas, despite the roads being straight through dry desert-like landscapes, and as we changed routes to head over towards and into Death Valley itself, the landscapes were more reminiscent of moonscapes and Mars-scapes, especially with the setting of the sun behind the Sierra Nevada. 

Just as the temperature hit 100˚F, just before 7pm, and just as we passed through a nothing of a place called Stovepipe Wells, we looked across to our right to see a creamy full moon rising above the distant hills. Out of this world. 

After what seemed like an eternity, albeit a very pleasant one, we finally arrived at Furnace Creek Ranch. And here we now sit, 10.44pm, temperature mid to low 90s, half a bottle of red wine drunk each, and looking forward to a not-so-early-morning swim, before the intense heat of tomorrow and the drive to Vegas. Good night xx