This morning we went to Mirror Lake towards the Eastern end of Yosemite Valley – thanks to my disabled parking permit we have access to a lot of roads that are normally for pedestrians only. The National Parks Service here is very good at maximising the access available to the disabled.
That meant we could see a lot more than I could have coped with otherwise – the walk out to Mirror Lake would have been impossible, and I doubt Bertha would have coped with the distance, slope, mud, and snow. Mirror Lake was gorgeous (what’s new? It’s part of Yosemite after all) – perfectly still, great reflections, and overlooked by Half Dome on one side and North Dome on the other. And yes, Bryan, I looked it up, that was Half Dome, or the base of it, at least – I don’t think we could see the dome itself from the lake. As you were saying, it’s amazing that people have climbed it – even getting up to the base would be a huge challenge!
I’ve spent the last 3 days gazing out the car window and sunroof – to the point where I’ve managed to get sunburnt on days I’ve hardly been out of the car! Not bad going since we’ve had quite a bit of cloudy weather, and it must have boosted my Vitamin D levels – my doctor will be pleased! Bryan keeps telling me to “Look!” in pretty much every direction because he has to keep his eyes on the road. I suspect I’m going to have the same problem next week when I’ll be driving myself – wanting to look in all directions but also needing to stay alive in the traffic!
At one point today I was standing on a bridge over the river, and realised that from that one spot, I had at least 4 picture postcard photos within my view – Yosemite is really that breathtaking. After a final look around, and taking some photos of the Ahwahnee Hotel which we neglected to do while we were staying there, we headed off towards the coast and Monterey. Again, beautiful drive, lots of views, and continuing changes in elevation. It really brings it home to you that this place is tectonically active – the earth’s buckled and bumped up all over the place.
On the way we stopped briefly in Gilroy, the garlic capital of the world. They sell garlic ice-cream (and everything else), and host a garlic festival each year. Driving through, you can actually smell the garlic growing in the fields. Bryan is a huge garlic fan, and had also taken various orders for garlic products from friends at work, so we were determined to stop and do a little shopping. Only problem was it was pretty late, and the stores we were after were all closed. Luckily it’s not far from Monterey, so we’ll come back in the next day or two.
We’re staying at the “Cannery Row Inn” – yep, this is the place of John Steinbeck fame. We’ve got a view over the bay, and are just two blocks from Cannery Row itself. It’s become pretty commercialised and touristy, but despite that it’s got a lot of good atmosphere. And there are plaques, signs, and posters relating to the book everywhere. I’d been meaning to re-read it before the trip – and of course hadn’t got around to more than a few pages. But it’s been lurking in the corner of my suitcase, so I might yet get to it.