USA – Week 4 – Yosemite to Lake Isabella.




Giant Sequoia & small D

 



Lake Isabella



Whiskey flat trail

 



  

Vegas

Vegas

A higher lake

  



El Capitan

A mirror lake





Yosemite Valley

  

Yosemite Valley

Monday 11th June - Our last day in this natural history wonderland and no sign of Bob Bear yet…..On that subject the warden told us that black bears are very intelligent and have a sense of smell 15 times stronger than a bloodhound. With this obvious intelligence I propose to design a sign similar to the ones used by white van man in the UK but it will read ‘no food left in this vehicle overnight.’ Should do the trick and stop all this Bob Bear food and cosmetic storage nonesense…..dream on. I have actually seen a video of Bob Bear ripping off the passenger door of a car to get to the grub!!! Sorry, I digress, back to the days events. We went to tunnel view for an alleged better shot of El Capitan, which we did and walked a trail from there to Inspiration Point. The trail was steep, hot, sweaty and I was not inspired when we got to it!! There were more inspiring views on the way up to the point. Anyway, on the way down there was a family with a herd of kids doing the trail. The kids were walking in front as kids do, generally fitter and slimmer than their parents. All of a sudden there was a right to do, parents hollering for the kids “come back, come back quick there’s a bear!!” Well wow we thought ace, we’re gonna see Bob Bear after all but there was so much screaming and shouting going on that Bob siddled off the trail and headed back into the undergrowth. We did manage to see him heading away from us down the trail. Fantastic but could have been a whole lot better without the oscar nominated performance of the muppet family…. Needless to say by the time you get your camera out the big lad had cleared off. What a super treat never the less.


After this episode we drove up to Glacier Point which is an elevated position above the Yosemite Valley. What a place and what superb views. We could see the waterfalls walk we had done the day before, all the famous ‘domes’ and the Yosemite Falls. It was well worth the drive up as the vistas were the best we’d ever seen!! After the excitement of the day we drove back down to the yosemite valley for the last time and had a beer and cooked dinner by the river. What a wonderful, unforgettable place.

Tuesday 12th June – Up and off early today as we have a long drive to the other extreme from natural history to the man made excesses of Las Vegas. Vegas was not on the schedule and lets face it it’s 300 miles in the wrong direction. We love it having been before and we were enjoying the great weather after our damp and dismal start. The weather in Yosemite was in the mid 90’s every day and it is expected to be at least 100dgs in Vegas. We drove out of Yosemite via the Tioga Pass which climbs to 9500 feet and goes through some stunning scenery. The journey once we were over the Sierra Mountain range was pretty desert like all the way down to Vegas past Death Valley. The temperature outside was 105 and it was not good in the car so we had to get the air con fired up!!

We arrived in Vegas 5ish and were booked into a motel just off the strip for two nights, opposite the MGM Grand (hows that for name dropping.) We ate locally and had a stroll down the strip to see the hotel sights which just seem to get better and bigger. Finally a good nights sleep in a room we didn’t have to erect before we could sleep in it – super……

Wednesday 13th June – After another laundry morning, bit of internet stuff (booking the next few nights accommodation and catching up wth the world) we had a walk out into the heat and had some lunch and a look round the MGM Grand. In the afternoon we had a swim in the motel pool then headed out onto the strip a bit earlier via the monorail system this time. We headed to the end of the strip and the tallest hotel the Stratosphere. A giant sized hotel with a theme park and restaurant etc built on the very top of it. It was quite a site to see but the area it was in was a bit dodgy so we hurried back to the monorail and back up to the centre of the strip. We wandered some more, had a beer and sat and people watched, did a bit of shopping then got back in just after midnight. The slots in the casinos now take plastic, how quick is that to run up a big bill!!!!

The strip is a fascinating place, an area of vulgar excess in every sense of the word but at the same time there is something about it that makes it and gives it that attraction that it has. A super couple of days, thoroughly enjoyed it and were clean and recharged for some more camping at Lake Isabella.

Thursday 14th June – Today we are ‘leavin Las Vegas’ via H&M so Mrs D can get some retail therapy before we head to the sticks for a few nights. Armed with a bag full of goodies and a smile she returned. In actual fact H&M was not too good and the bargains were found in the Old Navy store. Enough of this, off we go again. Heading in the wrong direction again, as according to our plans we should be heading north by now and we are in fact heading south west towards Los Angeles!! A lovely steady drive through desert lands and we lunched at ‘the Mad Greek!’ An American chain with all the Greek goodies like gyros and souvlaki but as you can imagine the portions are three times bigger but no where near as tasty.

We are on the lookout for a Walmart as our inflatable camp bed has developed a huge lump in the middle as the 2 sides separate. Most inconvenient as it was like sleeping on a hill and I ended up pushing Mrs D out of bed or falling out myself. Anyway, we found a Walmart and a new bed so all was well!!

We arrived at Lake Isabella late afternoon and it was a lovely setting overlooking the lake. The trouble was it was 105 degrees and not good for sleeping or storing food. We also had ground squirrels and chipmunks to contend with so we couldn’t leave anything out. It was midweek so the site was quiet. It was a popular fishing and water sports lake with many camps dotted around its shores.

Friday 15th June – We drove to the visitor centre in town and got bit of info. It was then back to the site for a lazy day at the camp. We had a walk along the lakeside and late afternoon moved pitch a bit further from the road as the traffic noise is not good. It was also a windy night previously so that didn’t help either. While we are on the moaning front, we also had cockroaches charging about all over the last pitch and the showers are cold and not been cleaned for a while – end of rant. New pitch has less roaches but didn’t change the shower temperature. An earlier dinner and drinks before an early night.

Saturday 16th June – Down to post office 1st job, closed – good start. We then drove up valley to check out another campsite at Kernville. Twas too expensive and too busy for us so it looked like another night with bugs and squirrels. Anyway, moving on we had a coffee in Kernville which was a very twee touristy place with a real saloon. After coffee we headed out to a trail head called the whiskey flat trail. Described as a riverside trail heading up stream 14 miles but obviously you walk as far as you want. Point 1, as said before when it says flat here it isn’t. Point 2, as for a riverside walk well it was if you had a pair of binos with you!! We walked a couple of miles upstream but it was over 100dgs and not much shade so we had to turn round and find the river to cool off. Called in for some grub at shops on way back before dinner at the tent.

Sunday 17th June – Today we are heading up north to look at some more trees. Ahh, not just any old trees but giant sequioas. A hundred of them apparently as it’s the trail of a 100 giants. Education time again chaps…..Sequioas are actually redwood trees. The inland broad bottom type are the sequioas and the tall coastal types are the redwoods. One is taller – the coastal and the other is wider generally the inland ones. Now having seen pictures and video of these giants, it doesn’t really prepare for just how big they really are and wow are they big!! Pictures don’t really do them justice you have to see them. We walked round the grove in awe at these huge trees some of them over a 1000 years old. There’s something about walking amongst trees, it’s almost a calming, relaxing feeling. Can’t really explain so I’ll give up. Anyway we got round the grove and were wondering why these giants need fire to breed (that’s what it said on the sheet but didn’t tell you why.) Will find out and report back later, if you’re still awake. After a picnic we headed back down the Kern river gorge which was stunning. We managed to find a quiet spot by the river for an hour before we got to Kern and had an entertaining hour in the local saloon. Back at the camp we had a chat with the camp hosts who spend their time travelling around different state parks every year looking after the site for the summer and ‘holidaying in the winter.’ very nice. After such an exciting day we headed back to the tent, tired, weary but pleased with the day.