Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
My lopsided tent
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Mammoth Pool Rd - Mile High Curve
.JPG)
What a gorgeous view!
I camped out at Bass Lake on Friday night. It was a nice night, although the mosquitos were out in full force. I have a bunch of bites, despite using repellant (those buggers bit right thru my clothes!). Plus, one of the tent poles broke on me when I was setting it up, so I had a lopsided tent, but it was still sleepable - lol. I had to order a tent pole repair kit. Hopefully it will be here in time for my road trip in 2 weeks.
Bass Lake was gorgeous. It was a nice night...almost cold in fact. But it got hot on Saturday...in the upper 90's. And it wasn't much cooler in the higher elevations, when I took the scenic drive up Mammoth Pool Road to Clover Meadow. It was only in the upper 80s there. Still, Mammoth Pool Road (the Scenic Byway), was a great drive, full of wildflowers and grand viewpoints. Below 4000 ft, there was a whole lot of Farewell To Spring (a whole lot!), along with some Wine Cup Clarkia, Butterfly Mariposa Lilies, Poppies, California Buckeye, to name a few. Up above 4000 ft, you can find Common Linanthus, Spreading Phlox, Larkspur, Chinese Houses, Pretty Faces, Ithuriel's Spear, and some Snow Plant as well. It is hard to miss, as it is bright red, and likes to grow amongst the dead pine needles. There was even some snow still left in the higher elevations near the Clover Meadow turnoff.
But then it was time to come home, and I returned home only to come back to even hotter weather. It is 104 outside right now. Thank goodness for air conditioning.
In 2 weeks, I am off to Utah, to venture to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Gonna hit up Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon and Zion as well. Maybe Cedar Breaks, too...if the road is open. I might hit up Kings Canyon on Saturday...maybe. We'll see.
Mammoth Pool Rd - Chinese Houses
I was pretty amazed to find some of these still hanging around, especially since it was so hot and dry where I found them.
Yosemite Ntl Park - Mirror Lake
I went up to Yosemite on May 15, 2009, just for a day trip, as I was camping out at Bass Lake that night. I got there early, which was a good thing, because it turned out quite warm that day. I mainly went to walk up to Mirror Lake, because I think that is one of the most beautiful parts of the park, and by summer's end, it is dried up. Mirror Lake is a nice, 1 mile long walk up a gently sloping hill, which is paved so it is handicapped accessible. There is a steeper section near the end of the trail, but it is not bad at all. It is a truly beautiful place. The southern part of the trail is blocked right now, due to a rockfall which happened in late March.
It got quite busy in the valley by the afternoon. I decided to drive up to Hetch Hetchy, which I had never been to before. While the valley was not great for wildflowers (except for the Dogwood trees, which were full in bloom), the Hetch Hetchy road was full of flowers, including Lupine, Thistle, Indian Pink, Snowplant, Harlequin Lupine, Monkeyflower, Spreading Phlox, Canyon Live Forever, Mission Bells, Larkspur, and more. You can get to Hetch Hetchy Road on Hwy 120, about 8 miles past Crane Flat.
After visiting Hetch Hetchy, I drove back to Bass Lake, as it was getting later, and I wanted to check in and put up the tent. Glacier Point Road was open, but Tioga Road was still closed. I had contemplated going up to Glacier Point, but since I am going back to Yosemite in July, I decided to go up there then.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
Grab my blinkie if you wanna
(Click on the links below to go there.)
Click the moose to sign my Guest Book
My "pet"
Visit CALM
