Yosemite

Sunday we rode north up 395 through the town of Mammoth Lakes where we added leather as temperatures fall with the rise in altitude. The picture above was our view much of the morning during which time the road was pretty straight and traffic thin. We passed another rider stopped along the side of the highway. Not knowing his situation we slowed to see if he was OK, but discovered he was adding layers of clothing as well. Near the town of Lee Vining, we headed west on 120 toward Yosemite. We found the views on this approach road, some of the best of the day... as good as anything we saw within the park itself.

Yosemite is a wilderness park, which simply means that most of it is left natural and only accessible to hikers and backpackers. Since we only had a day to experience the park, we opted to limit most of our travels to the main road that crosses east/west... but then added a side trip south to Yosemite Valley and the village there. We were passed, not long after entering the park, by 2 on sport bikes but caught them at a visitor center. Behind the full face helmets we found a couple, both with long gray hair who lived in the San Francisco area. ( where was my camera ) They talked about their ride that morning from Nevada, at times topping 130 mph on the long straight stretches... not my kind of riding, but they seem to enjoy it.

Sunday afternoon in July means lots of visitors (traffic) but we moved along pretty well, passing lakes and streams, rock walls, and grassy meadows and found 40 degree changes in temperature within the park itself.

Made our way to the town of Oakdale by 4:00 pm. Accommodations in this part of California can be hit or miss... last night was a miss, tonight seems to be better though both were part of the same hotel chain. Beginning Monday we will make slight changes from our original plan riding through Napa Valley instead of staying on the interstate.