Here’s my “quick” attempt to catch up on the past week.
Day 8: I still didn’t get great sleep (irrationally afraid of the mountain lion). Ben made coffee & cheesy eggs for breakfast in Andrea & Edward’s kitchen. Yum yum. We said our goodbyes, had a quick hug & were on the road by 8:30. Only 14 miles to Yosemite Valley. Big climb to start but once in the park it wasn’t too bad. We made it to our 1st major destination! Yahoo! The ride in was beautiful: lots of waterfalls & rushing river. We stopped for lunch in a meadow looking up at Yosemite Falls, under a shade tree. It was perfect 🙂 Gorgeous weather, beautiful view, sense of accomplishment. There was a lot of traffic. The valley floor is quite modern. It’s basically a small town: shops, restaurants, cafes, grocery stores, hotel, etc. Biking around Yosemite is tricky: paths are for pedestrians & bikers & are pretty busy. Our bells came in handy but not everyone knows what to do when you’re coming through.
We set up camp at the backpackers campground (reserved for people doing backcountry camping on their 1st & last night as well as for bikers & pedestrians, just the 1st night). With camp set up we rinsed in the river – WOOOO, coldest yet! Refreshing but dang! Laundry, nap, biked to Camp 4 to inquire about open spots for tomorrow & how early we should line up – 5am, opens 3 hours later…ugh 🙁 We stopped to watch 4 deer munchin on some grass very close to the path on the way over. Using Zack from Livermore’s advice we biked to Lower Pines campground & looked for RV campers to share a site with (this was key since they don’t use lawn space for tent & don’t need bear lockers since food is fine in their RV). Asked a couple, Donna & Walter, & they said yes. Hooray! Now we don’t have to wake up early & wait in line for a campground we weren’t jazzed about anyway (crowded, loud, free-for-all). We chatted a bit about our trip, a little of where they came from & Walter gave us some tips on things to do & see in Yosemite (also about secret showers in Curry Village, now Half Dome Village-thanks!).
We did a little grocery shopping before dinner-wow, so many options, decent prices, good quality. Biked to the Majestic Yosemite Hotel for a fancy dinner to celebrate our 1st major destination. On the way over we came across a coyote on the path that was very tame & not skiddish. We stopped, it walked within touching distance very nonchalantly & continued on it’s way. Don’t see that everyday! At the hotel we put our name on the list & while we waited I helped escort a squirrel that snuck into the hotel back outside. Silly squirrel. We waited quite a bit but it was too long so we went to The Loft cafe near the Visitor Center for a quick bite. On the ride back in the dark some people walking on the path warned us of bears up ahead in the meadow…gulp 🙂 They’re just black bears, mostly harmless, but I was still a little on edge. Back to camp & straight to bed. A little chilly tonight – felt good.
Well, that was only one day’s update & not so quick but we gotta roll! Til next time.
Whitney