The Edge of Yosemite
Trip Start Jul 02, 2010
18Trip End Jul 16, 2010
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Where I stayed
Shortly after the salt flats we entered Nevada and got our first glimpse of the desert
With each ridge also came a stunning view of the large basin that lay below and the surrounding mountains. The basins would spontaneously spring up with dozens of dust tornadoes that spun for miles across the landscape. The multi-colored patchwork of desert brush that painted the floor of these great basins was the only sign of life other than the occasional single-wide trailer or ranch that sprouted perfectly circular fields of deep green vegetation made by large sprinkler systems rotating on a central axis. With nothing to slow their progress gusts of wind would build across the basin and toss the car around like a tumbleweed. The drive was both intense and dramatic and I enjoyed every white-knuckle and fast-paced moment of it.
The first town after several hours of driving was Tonopah, Nevada and once through it we caught our first glimpses of the Sierra-Nevada Mountains about 100 miles away
We passed by Mono Lake with its tumbled stone lakeshore and headed high into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The trees returned to the landscape and the snow-packed peaks of Yosemite got closer with each mile. Our camp that night was perched on the side of a high mountain lake with a 150 foot water fall just steps from the site. After a quick dinner we lit a fire and popped open a few brews to celebrate reaching California. As the fire slowly died and I got ready for bed I looked up one last time to the night sky filled with thousands of stars. The white smudge of the Milky-Way was framed by the dark outlines of the tall alpine trees that shot into the sky and a falling star lit the dark racing west just like us. I wished my wish and curled up in my sleeping bag to the thoughts of the Pacific and San Francisco.