It sometimes becomes a mess trying to keep up with our journal. If we have internet access at our campgrounds, I am able to keep up but if we don’t and I don’t write each night…well let’s just say that sometimes I just miss writing about something that we really enjoyed. While we were in Lee Vining we were within ¾ mile to the Tioga Pass turn off from 395. Also, the morning that we arrived in Lee Vining was the morning that they opened Tioga Pass. Tioga Pass is the pass that takes you across the Sierra Nevada Mountains and into Yosemite National Park. We didn’t think we would be here when it opened but with the light snow pack they had this last winter, they were able to open a month early. The scenery was just what you would expect…absolutely stunning. Fortunately we were driving our “toad” as we traveled from as low as 200 feet above sea-level to as high as 13,014 when we went across the summit of Mount Lyell. Yosemite is covered with Granite Domes that look as smooth as a bowling ball from the distance but when you stop and walk out onto them, you have a smooth surface. Because of it being granite, you have great traction so we took advantage of it and tracked all over the sides of these huge mountain tops. Our destination for the day was to cross the pass and then onto the visitor center at Yosemite Village, which was about 70 plus miles away and took us over 3 hours to get there. The whole route was filled with beautiful scenery and look outs to even more, but when we arrived down at the village…WOW… We had seen “Half Dome” from the distance, just after we crossed over Tioga Pass, but now we were right underneath it. We also were right at the base of Bridal Vail Falls, Yosemite Falls, and El Capitan to name a few. To think we saw it all…no possible way…but to say we had a great time and would come back…without a doubt.
