Yosemite National Park, California

First of all, I should mention that the Yosemite portion of our trip almost didn't happen. The combination of the Telegraph fire and some uncertainty about whether we could even get into Yosemite with a rig of our size (more on this later) made the proposition a long shot right up until we drove up to the park.

We are really glad that we didn't give up on coming to Yosemite.
"Tunnel view" of Yosemite valley.

Although we were only there for a little over two days, I think we got a pretty good sampling of the park. Our first destination after we arrived was Glacier Point.
I told Eva after we took these pictures that people are going to accuse us of standing in front of a fake background at some photo studio somewhere. How can I convince you that this is real? It is unreal!

Later in the day, the kids were itching to get wet, so we let them have some fun in the Merced River.


Mom on the Sentinal Bridge.
El Capitan.Even though the Yosemite Valley has the most amazing views, I found it to be very hot and crowded there (I don't like crowds).

So, on the second day we ventured up the the high country along the Tioga Road. We really enjoyed this. It was much cooler (higher altitude), less crowded, and the views were just as spectacular (although maybe not as famous).

Kendall on top of the world...At one point, we spotted this tree from a long way away. It was very distinctive. Fortunately it was in a place that we could climb up to.

We had a nice picnic lunch by Tenaya Lake.
The high country at Yosemite is a popular destination for mountain climbers.

Can you spot the climbers on this mountain?
Look harder!

Here is a panaramic shot of the Toulumne Meadows.This is the route out of the park, just east of the Tioga Pass. This is the longest and steepest descent that I have ever gone down (with or without a camper).

Yosemite is the terminus of our trip, in that every stop up to this point took us further away from home, and every stop after this point will take us closer to home. Once we hit the summit at Tioga Pass, it is all downhill (both literally and figuratively).

A most amazing thing happened at Yosemite. I saw Hannah and Kendall being nice to each other. Not just once, but several times!
Yosemite is nestled in the Sierra-Nevada Mountains, and all the roads leading into and through the park are mountain roads.This last paragraph is for the benefit of anyone who may stumble across this blog while trying to determine whether or not they can drive their RV into or across Yosemite. I tried Googling various phrases before our visit to try to find out about this, and found much conflicting information.

Our rig is a 33' fifth wheel camper (total length of 49' including the truck). We came eastbound into the RV Park (in El Portal) from Merced on Hwy 140. Even though the signs cautioned against vehicles longer than 45', we had no trouble at all.

On departure, we continued into the park on Hwy 140, then turned north on Hwy 41, then east on 120 over the Tioga Pass and then down to Hwy 395 near Lee-Vinings. This was also no problem. The 10 mile section of Hwy 41 between the Yosemite Valley and Hwy 120 was narrow and curvy, but not really nerve wracking at all.

The trickiest part of the trip was the descent down from the eastern entrance of the park at Tiago Pass to Hwy 395. I would not want to drive this section pulling a trailer without a vehicle with a deisel engine (engine brakes are a lifesaver!). I hope this helps.