 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Yosemite National Park, CA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10/01/03 We woke up this morning at the campground near Yosemite called Saddlebag lake. It was a beautiful morning and we had mountains all around us and a beautiful blue lake below. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| It was hard to get motivated with all this beauty around us! We walked the dogs and headed out before the afternoon to see Yosemite. When we entered Yosemite the thing that struck me was the enormous slick rock domes around every corner. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| We saw huge rock cliffs illuminated in the sunshine and tried to find a place to stop. There were no turnouts big enough for us and our trailer. We decided to stop at the next picnic area and see if we could get a view. We pulled over and headed down a small trail hoping to get a view of the cliffs. The trail quickly came to an end and Kim looked down and noticed dark dropping on the ground that looked like bear droppings. The bear droppings were a lot fresher than we�d ever seen camping and usually Kim presses her foot against them to see how fresh they are but this was so fresh she didn�t want to press against it. We both thought maybe we should turn around but we headed a short ways in and discovered some movement right in front of us�A BEAR!!! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I felt an adrenalin rush and quickly stepped over the log behind me. Kim backed slowly away with the presence of mind to turn her camera on!!! She got a picture and some videos of the bear sauntering away. It was terrifying and exciting at the same moment. The way the bear walked so regally and sauntered down the meadow, she reminded me so much of Buger cat sauntering through our own living room after prowling outside. We headed back to the truck with pictures of our bear in tow. I had never been that close to a bear in my life and I could still feel my heart beating a little quicker. The last turn out we did in Yosemite was an overlook with cracked slickrock and huge boulders. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A vista extended in the distance of a dome and large cliffs to either side. I took a .2 mile hike to the other overlook and took pictures on the top of a domed rock. I walked around looking at the panoramic view surrounding me and the valley below. The slickrock was covered with boulders and small trees and everywhere was the beauty of Yosemite. We headed down the road and noticed that there was a controlled burn going on and quickly rolled up the windows. There were a few overlooks heading out of Yosemite that were beautiful and we stopped briefly to absorb the atmosphere. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| We took one wrong turn but were soon on track again to head to Sacramento. I was so tired I didn�t think I ever wanted to camp again but Kim took me out for Pizza and after a few bites it was like a light turned on. I felt so energetic and refreshed after eating. We drove down the road for quite a ways listening to the Oakland A�s baseball game and wondering where our next home would be. We finally found it in a rest area just before Redding and we hope to maybe make it to Crater Lake tomorrow (or close to). We�re home for the night. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Next: 100203 North CA I-5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Previous: 093003 Mammoth Lakes, CA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||