Here are some pics of what we had hoped to see of Yosemite Valley....
Instead, this is what the valley looked like due to the fire and smoke nearby....
There was a fire burning just SW of Yosemite NP, and it was causing the park to be filled with smoke, and crowds supposedly be worse than normal due to one entrance being closed. So we just decided to pass on Yosemite for now as it's only a 10 hour drive from home, so hopefully we can do it at some point in the future with the girls.
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| My favorite type of pop! |
So instead of going back through Sac and down to Yosemite, we instead decided to drive along the Eastern side of the Sierras on our way back home. Highway 395 goes from the Reno, NV area down to the Barstow, CA area. It is a beautiful drive, and there are a lot of unique things to do.see along the way. I (think) I took this drive about 10-15 years ago as some of the area I remember, and other parts I have no recollection of. Our friends Johnny & Eileen suggested the following web site for things to do along 395 - https://californiathroughmylens.com/
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| South Shore - Darby being a pig, and Betty Boop with her eyes on Boo! |
On Friday morning, we got up in decent time, and headed towards the South Shore of Lake Tahoe as the girls had not been to this part of the lake during our visit. It is a lot busier, and a lot more to do than the north side of the lake, but you also get a lot more people with those options. We parked and walked around a bit, and got a light snack for lunch as we had a stop we wanted to hit on 395 down near Mono Lake that had been recommended to us.
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| Slackettes at the Whoa Nellie Deli! |
After South Shore, we hopped up and over the Eastern side of the Sierras to the Gardnerville area and hit Hwy 395. For some reason, our "check engine" light came on as we were heading up the grade. It doesn't seem to be anything serious, but is also a concern as we still have 500 miles or so to drive, and a big chunk of it in the heat. Hopefully we can get home without any issues. We stopped and got cheap gas - ~ $1 less than in Cali, and then headed South.... right into a thunderstorm!!!! :-)
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| I was a real "bear" by the time we reached Whoa Nellie Deli! |
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| Another "bear hug!" |
We drove in/out of rain all along 395 down to the Mono Lake area. It was awesome for us desert rats who do not see rain very often! At times, it was a real "turd floater!" We pulled off 395 at Hwy 120, which goes into Yosemite NP from the East side, and hit the "Who Nellie Deli" for a snack and a beer! This is a Mobil gas station, with a popular deli in the building. We ordered fish tacos and a swordfish sandwich to share, and both were pretty darned good considering we were in BFE!!!
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| Reminds me of Houston area last summer! |
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| A funny liquid on the window for us desert rats! |
If we had really wanted to go to Yosemite NP, we could have went into the back entrance by WND, but we passed on headed on South. Soon after WND, we hit Manzanar, the home of a WW2 Japanese Internment Camp. It was a neat place to visit, but very sad to learn that the US took many Japanese Americans and basically put them in prison after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, just due to them being of Japanese decent.
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| Girls at Manazanar Conctration Camp. |
After the internment camp, we went on down to Mammoth Lakes, CA, which is a big ski area for SoCal people. It was a typical ski town, with a lot of shops and restaurants in a small area. We lucked out, and a reggae festival was going on that night, so there was a lot going on in the downtown area. After checking into our room at the Mammoth Lakes Mountain Resort, we took the shuttle into downtown for the night. Of course, we had to stop by a micro brewery or two that evening! It was a relatively quite night and then we headed on South the next morning.
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| Tired of visiting micro breweries! |
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| Some sort of "world famous" bakery in BFE Bishop, CA. I almost schat myself after eating there! |
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| Fossil Falls |
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