WEDNESDAY, August 1st.
Day 5 on the road.
We got our Americanos at the sassy espresso place and hit the road.
Wide selection of “caffeinated specials”
Staying another night in California was out of the question. But so was missing Yosemite. This was going to be our goodbye to California.
The Ahwahnee in Yosemite Village welcomed us with a unique greeting…
Welcome to Ahwahnee!
As we were hiking up the Mist Trail, I was wondering if carrying food in your backpack was the smartest idea. Was our next point of interest a picnic with bears? Last supper? Maybe we should get back on the road?
Passing Olmsted Point the views changed dramatically. Sierra Nevada mountain range is a magical place! Granite domes, waterfalls…
Tioga Rd.
The weather was calling for a nice refreshing swim.
This looked like a nice place to take a dip…
The view from Lake Tenaya wasn’t bad.
Approaching Tioga Pass through Tuolumne Meadows, with elevation around 8600 ft., it felt like you could almost touch the clouds.
A highlight of Tioga Rd beyond Yosemite
Ellery Lake, elevation 9538 ft
If you are planning a cross country trip, do not start in California. You will never get out of there.
Driving through Lee Vining Canyon to Mono Valley I thought the best landscape was behind us and tried to prepare myself for entering Nevada. Mono Lake proved me wrong. The collaboration between Mono lake and the clouds was breathtaking! Goodbye California.
Mono Lake
Uh oh, we weren’t quite ready for that.
To make the transition a little smoother, we agreed on a little detour… Lake Tahoe. We stayed on Nevada side.
I am assuming you have seen plenty of gorgeous photos of Lake Tahoe, but you might not know the following.
Quite amazing!
And the size of California is 158,706 sq miles…
May the memories of the High Sierra help us survive Reno…