the trip - day 1
We got up at 5AM, and things did not start off well. It was clearly way too early for David (especially after he went to bed later than normal the night before), and he was launching into crying hysterically at the smallest problem. Amazingly, we stil managed to get out of the house in under an hour, and were well on our way by 6AM. David was still super cranky for a large chunk of the morning. Even with the occasional slow truck or RV, I made excellent time driving out to Yosemite, and up to Glacier Point, getting there in about 3 hours.
Glacier Point was, as always, amazing. It was cold up there (about 45F), but it was worth if for the amazing views. The drive back down, and over to the Tioga Road (CA-120) was slow & painful, as some construction truck was going about 20MPH and refused to pull out to let the 15+ cars behind him pass. Once I got onto the Tioga Road, things improved somewhat, but I still was stuck behind some slow moving RV's & random cars on occasion. We ended up stopping for lunch beside Tenaya Lake, which was gorgeous, with crystal blue waters, and steep mountains behind its banks. It was also cold & windy, but we managed. This pack (group?) of bluejays were very curious about our food, and were literally surrounding us on all sides. David had fun smacking the picnic table, which made them all jump back about a foot each time, only to edge closer again.
I never knew or imagined that the scenery just past Yosemite's eastern edge was so amazing. I'm talking about sheer valleys, thousands of feet deep, tall granite peeks, and vast panoramas. I'd say that the drive out there to the intersection of US-395 was often much better than the scenery on the Tioga Road inside the park. About 2 miles before hitting US-395, we could see Mono lake in the distance. I didn't realize how large this lake is. It occupies much of the distant horizon, and is beautiful with the mountains lining much of its perimeter. I could already see the tufa towers as I drove south on US-395, and the gravel road (Power Station Road) leading out to the 'south tufa area' provided additional amazing views. The visitor center is really well laid out for someplace that seems kind of remote. We took the loop trail down to the lake's edge, and saw alot of tufa towers. David had fun looking at the water, and was intrigued by the tufas along the way. I discovered that the route that I took down there was actually the harder way, as CA-120 actually cuts east just south of the lake to the point where only a few hundred feet of gravel road are needed to access the visitor center, rather than the 4.6miles that I ended up taking on Power station road. I guess I'll know better next time.
The remaining drive down US-395 was great. Nearly all of it is a divided 4 lane highway, we breathtaking views of the Sierras (to the west), and later the White Mountains (to the east). We pulled into Bishop just after 2PM, and had just enough time to explore the (free!!) Laws Historic Railroad Museum. This museum is amazing, when you consider that there is no admission charge. In addition to having a full size, 7 car train, they've got over 20 relocated historic buildings onsite that serve as either museums in their own right, or historical buildings. Other than David's impatience for me to read the info in each of the buildings, we had a good time. He was mostly fixated by the large train, mining & farm machinery, and the highlight was when I helped him to ring the bell on the train.