Wednesday, September-19
I've also heard a lot of good things about Yosemite National Park, in the Sierra Nevada mountain range - pronounced with four syllables: Yo·seh·mi·tee - Certainly the 32-mile [51½ km] ride from nearby Mariposa (stopover town) to the Park's entrance was spectacular in itself.
With the entrance fee at USD $20, I'm again glad to show my Annual Pass to the Ranger and get into the park for free .. :o)

I look at the weather forecasts, for the ensuing two days, with some apprehension.

Riding through Arch Rock Entrance, and then along Portal Road, is an absolute delight. Onwards until we spot a sign indicating ...

.. 'Bridelveil Fall'. Gotta take a look. And walk the short distance, through the woods, of 1,000 ft [305 m] to ...

.. the spectacle, which is in a delicate free-fall. Not too much water flowing over the 620-foot drop [190 m] at the moment, which is not surprising, considering that we're virtually at the end of a very dry summer

'El Capitan' - the largest granite monolith in the world.

Towards lunchtime and we head towards the Visitors Centre for a bite. There's a lot of smoke around, which we later find out ...

.. is a controlled, or "prescribed burn". Apparently, staffers here at the Park routinely burn parcels of the forest deliberately - in part to reduce the risk of uncontrollable future fires, and in part to encourage a more natural mix of forest vegetations.
But right here, around this vicinity, is not a good place to eat egg sandwiches .. believe me!

Gotta move on. So the decision is made to ride over the Tioga Pass towards the eastern entrance of the Park. Here's the view as we make the climb up to Hwy 120, which will take us over the near 10,000-feet [3,000 m] high Pass.

As I discover, it can get bloody cold at these heights this time of year.

With most of our luggage back at the Mariposa-based motel, I nevertheless pull-on and wear every layer of clothing available to me.

6ºC [42ºF]. Certainly this is THE coldest temperature that I've experienced over the last three months.

By 5.00pm the sun is starting to sink lower in the south-western sky. The decision is made to get back to the motel ASAP. This involves a second trip - westwards - back over the Tioga Pass. Brrrrrrr! I now wish I had retained my warmer
Rev'it jacket, and sent the cooler
JoeRocket mesh one back home!
Maybe we'll come back to the Park again tomorrow. But the weather forecast is not good .. :o(
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Thursday, September-20With today's weather looking decidedly 'dodgy', especially towards the north (Yosemite NP region), we decide to head back to the coast a day early. San Francisco here we come!