Yosemite, Part One

Our trip to Yosemite was wonderful. It was a little strange (for me at least) to have no cell phone service and no Internet for three. whole. days. Definitely restful though.

We spent the first night in Modesto, about an hour outside Yosemite; we wanted to enjoy the scenery going into the valley during daylight hours. The wildflowers were in bloom, carpeting the hills with orange and purple. Hwy 140 was reduced to just one-lane in two separate places - including where this rock slide had taken out the two-lane highway. The road is totally buried, not even a hint of where it used to be. Cal Trans is going to have lots of fun cleaning up that mess.

The next two nights - Wednesday and Thursday - we stayed at Yosemite Lodge at the Falls in Yosemite Village. The rooms are rustic, like you'd expect in a national park, but clean and comfortable. (Hot running water and a king-size bed; that's definitely my kind of 'roughing it'!)Our room was upstairs, at the end of one building. The view from our balcony was spectacular; looking to the right - and to the left - where we had a clear view of Yosemite Falls (it's kind of hard to see through the trees in the photo.)

Bill and Carolyn's room was next to ours and they had a view in just one direction, but they saw more wildlife than we did - including a coyote chasing a squirrel (squirrel got away but not before the coyote got a nibble on him) and a raccoon who made a midnight raid on their room. Note to self: even if you're on the second floor, never leave your balcony door open when you drift off to sleep. You too might awaken to the sound of little paws emptying your purse onto the floor, looking for treats. And that's after the little darling had 'liberated' a carton of yogurt and taken it onto the balcony to eat. Carolyn heard him during the first entry, but thought it was her hubby moving around. The second time she turned on the light just in time to see Rocky Raccoon make a run for the door. Good times. Especially at 1 in the morning.