USA Road Trip - Yosemite - Heading for the Hills

Day 5 - On the safe side of the street
Leaving the San Francisco skyline behind
Time to pack up and pick up a hire car - but not before a walk around the City. TW wanted to have a look around Macy's. I planned to sneak a nice coffee and cake but sadly their Cafe opened too late. Off to Alamo  at mid-day to pick up a very tidy Chevrolet Malibu. Hire companies always try and up-sell and we bought additional roadside assistance. Not really sure why the standard roadside assistance does not cover tyre issues? Bit (very) concerned about driving out of the busy, hilly city that is crisscrossed by tram lines in an unfamiliar car on the wrong side of the road. One wrong left turn and we would be dicing with the cable cars and definitely heading for the stars! Our route to the Freeway was planned meticulously and our strategy worked famously. We were soon heading East with the traffic on our carriageway going in the same direction - phew! Only 4 hours to Yosemite National Park. Not a bad drive, we stopped for Lunch at McDonalds in Livingston. It was named after Dr David Livingstone but someone dropped a vowel. Americans do have a habit of doing that. It was in a mostly Agricultural area and many of our fellow guests were speaking Spanish. A nice climb up Highway 140 through Mariposa, an attractive Western looking town. The road was quiet in our direction, our strategy of leaving SF late paid off. Our Motel was just short of the Park in El Portal. The Yosemite View Lodge was pretty pricey for just a standard Motel Room but it had a kitchen area so it was fine for a hastily purchased Spam Pasta and Wine meal. An Irish couple had advised against using the Motel Restaurant as the service was deathly slow. Our room was a bit dark, the Riverside Rooms are better but they cost even more. We were paying for location, and what a location.........

Day 6 - Yosemite National Park
TW in the meadow with Horsetail Falls
Yosemite is stunning and we had a lovely sunny day to see it. A very full day with a wander up to Mirror Lake being a highlight. It was extremely busy with tourists but it did not detract from our day.
They have an optional Park and Shuttle Ride system - we did the decent thing and opted in. The buses were a little bit of a trial, they seem to do multiple figures of eight so there is no such thing as a simple A to B.
Lower Yosemite Falls
 
Bear Necessity - put your food out of reach
Oh, and bears like Tarragon. We had a talk and walk with a very jolly Ranger who meandered verbally and on foot through the bear history and habitat. Humans have a very negative impact on our furry friends. Like the rest of us, the bears like the easy life and a few treats and its vital to keep them away from our foodstuffs and waste. The huge number of campers have to put their food in bear-proof cages and eat their fatty and unhealthy food themselves. A scavenging bear might only last 6 years whereas a bear with a proper varied diet of berries and whatever else satisfies their omnivorous taste buds will last 30. In times past the Rangers used to encourage the bears to come to feeding time but not any more. Stay wild young Bruin! No Burgers.
Small world - some other tourists took this - from Southampton
Mirror Lake

Spot the climber - on El Capitan

Lower Yosemite Falls
Falls and Fools - its a ussie sort of place
 Beats me how people climb on the vertical rock faces like El Capitan. This is a glacial valley and the rock-faces are absolutely vertical, Suitable only for waterfalls and birdies.

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