DAY TWENTY THREE

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA - TONOPAH, NV

380.1 MILES

We left Tulare at 10:30am, and stopped for Carl's Jr. after about 2 hours. This burger was good, but it made me feel a little bit sick, especially through the wind-y hills of Yosemite National Park. We entered, and drove a little while before turning onto Glacier Point Road.

The drive through the park entrance

 This road is 16 miles each way, and takes about 40 minutes to get up to the top. We stopped at the first viewpoint which afforded a truly amazing scene.
 

Half dome

Redwoods!

 You could see the Half Dome Mountain, two waterfalls, and the Yosemite Valley. We kept driving a few more miles up the road to Glacier Point. The hike to the viewpoint was about 1/4 mile, and it was sooo spectacular. You could see 1/4 of the park in this one view, including all of the major points. We hiked down the side a little bit, and sat on a boulder for a while just taking it all in. 

After spending about and hour here, we walked back to the car to drive back down the road and into Yosemite Valley. The valley is pretty awesome, because you're looking at the mountains from their bases. After driving through a tunnel we were offered an amazing view, and then went to park at the Visitor's Center. 

Tunnel View

We boarded the shuttle bus to the 17th stop which was a mile long hike to Mirror Lake. Once we got there, I did not find what my guide book told me I would, which is a reflective pond at the base of the Half Dome mountain. Instead, it was mostly dried up, and visitors could walk into the sandy pit.

Mirror lake

 It was still a beautiful view, but I do wish I had known this before walking all that time. We took the shuttle back and began a long night of driving. The east exit of the park is along route 120, which takes you through the other side of Yosemite, along Tioga Pass. 

These views were absolutely amazing. The Sierra Nevada Mountains are bigger than any other mountains I've seen, and they truly make you feel so small. There are beautiful lakes and meadows everywhere you look, and it takes about two hours to exit. We got back onto 120 after exiting the park, which was seriously soooo empty and pretty boring. I have to admit to taking a few naps while Kenny drove, and when we saw our very first stop 2 hours later (we entered Nevada at 9:40pm) in Tonopah, NV. Everything was closed (not that everything means that much - a burger king and a subway) and all of the motels were full. We broke our routine of super cheap motels and were forced to stop at a Best Western, where we paid double what we paid in Los Angeles, but oh boy was that bed comfortable. 

Too bad the Clown Motel was full...

We had to go to the Texaco station and buy a microwaveable dinner.