Back in Civilazation

We have been completely out of touch since leaving for Yosemite Tuesday morning. A little less than 3 days....seems like 3 weeks. So I will back up to Monday night when we finished off our tour of Lodi and got out to one of several local Sandhill Crane Refuge's and saw the big birds coming in for the night. There were hundreds on the ground and hundreds still flying in. And like I said, this was just one spot (of about 4 in the Lodi area). Impressive...

Tuesday, we did not really hurry as the trip to Groveland (the town we would be camping in) was only about 120 miles from Lodi. I called in the morning to assure a spot at Yosemite Pines campground and carefully looked at the route, comparing it to our handy-dandy book that lists any roads with height/weight restrictions or any that are deemed big-rig "unfriendly" (big grades, winding roads, etc...). The initial hour and a half went fine. We actually were traveling through what appeared to be a hilly version of Kansas. All gold meadows and vast fields. That came to an abrupt halt right around Chinese Camp (actual town name). We started up the "preferred" route to Groveland which is Hwy 120, avoiding the notoriously bad Hwy 49 and any other passes listed in our bible. Well....lets just say this. Both Jeff and I had to down scotch by the time we got to Groveland and the BB was STEAMING hot! This "highway" was A) under construction, B) wound up the mountain like a Z, C) had no guardrails and was narrow and D) had at least an 8 percent uphill grade for 6 miles!!! By the time we got to the campground , Jeff,I and BB were all groaning. I then proceeded to completely melt-down on the owner, and basically told her she could have WARNED us as she knew we had a large fifth-wheel. Her response was....tour buses and large RV's make it up all the time no problem. OK. So I am a pussy. I admit it. I was literally scared to death and Jeff was not to happy having driven this hellish road. Needless to say, the campsites were small, sloped and difficult to navigate (which prompted a second rampage on office lady). Anyway....we did get settled in. I think it was probably 6 or 7 by then, so we had a good dinner and were in bed by maybe 9.

Get off my bed...seriously.

Wednesday we actually had to go backward through Groveland and into Oak Flats to get gas before heading out to Yosemite ( And thank God we did. Gas just outside of Yosemite was $4.99 a gallon and there is NO gas in the park itself). Even from Groveland it was a hike, probably 35 miles to the park edge and another 17 or so before you're really IN the park. Initially, all I saw were more hills and more pines. I was still not in the greatest mood from the previous days adventure ride, and said something to the effect of "There better be more than this"...oh there was indeed. Since I can't even begin to describe the enormity and splendor that is Yosemite, I will simply add pictures, which we all know is worth a thousand words...

The road into Yosemite

El Capitan

Bridal Veil Falls



Were we watched people rock climbing...
left side, mid rock, whitish spot surrounded by gray.
Yup, WAYYYY up there!



Anyway, it was absolutely amazing and well worth all the previous days hell. Though next time (and there will be a next time) we will leave BP far behind in the valley and just stay in a hotel or something near Yosemite as you really need several days to even drive around it, much less hike. We had about 5 hours in the park and it wasn't nearly long enough but we did not relish the thought of driving back to the campground in the dark. Way to many deer and they have zero fear of people, cars, etc...

Today we fearlessly faced the ride DOWN the fabulous Hwy. 120 from Groveland (Ha!). Same grade, same winding road, same construction....only this time BB's brakes were smoking. And I mean SMOKING. And this was about halfway down. It was at this point we had to stop for the construction as the road became one lane. Which meant we sat there, for probably 15 minutes,  on a decline, with Jeff's foot pressed hard on the brake and the smoke is just pouring from the rear brakes. Great. We did make it, obviously, unscathed and the BB will be going to the brake doctor tomorrow for a check-up.

Our plan for today was to go to Fresno. I know. I know. Fresno??? But we did have our reasons. We did want the BB to have a brake check, possibly new brakes, the BP needed a bath big time and we would be fairly close to Sequoia National Park, which we would love to visit. So we wind our way back from where we came only a little south and as soon as we get to Hwy. 99 south....dead stop. Road construction, God only knows where but the iPhone showed a jam for the next 50 miles or so. Detour time. And boy did we detour. What is another 120 mile trip from Groveland to Fresno took 5 hours. On the plus side we really got to see some California country side and small towns. It actually was kind of fun and at times, very beautiful. I never realized the diversity of California produce...we saw apple orchards, nut farms, vineyards, cotton, corn, hay,  something that looked like lettuce (??), cows of course, and many unidentifiable crops. We got to Fresno and went directly to the truck wash where both BB and BP got hand scrubbed and all buffed up.

So now we are tucked in at the Viking RV park in Kingsburg and will see to the brakes in the a.m. Saturday we will day-trip to see the giant sequoias and Sunday head to the coast. No more mountains for awhile...PLEASE!

Xena chillaxin after a long day!

Momma's version of chillaxin after a long day.
The mug (a gift from my buddy Marty) was to be my cork cage for the trip...
it's full.