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Yo! Semite!!! We who live in California are most fortunate. Take two steps off the front porch and you have San Francisco Bay lapping at your feet. A short ride away the Pacific Ocean. A slightly longer ride away and you're at the entrance to one of the most amazing National Parks in the country....Yosemite!
On my return from Colorado a few months back I chose to drop down out of the Sierras via Highway 120 which passes through the high country of Yosemite. Just outside the park gate I turned right onto Evergreen Road. Soon I found myself passing through groves of redwoods and winding my way up and down the foothills of the Sierras. It was fabulous! Along the way I spied a very nice looking lodge and thought to myself "What a great place to stay!" Soon after I returned from this trip I found myself scheduling an overnight ride to Evergreen Lodge with a plan to visit the Ahwahnee Lodge in Yosemite for Sunday brunch. The original cast of characters dwindled down to just four people. Gino's wife's unfortunate tangle with a kid fence left her with a broken foot and no way to drive up to the park to join us. Gino being the good husband abandoned plans to join us and chose to stay home and do a little pampering. What a guy! Kari's other half is still new to the sport and thanks to a tender tush needed an easier route with more stopping time to recuperate. Therefore they chose to take a slightly more direct route and meet us there. That left Laurel and I to enjoy the slightly less direct route. We scooted across the valley on the usual 580-208-120-108 route up to Sonora. There we branched off to head into the tiny town of Tuolumne where we gassed up and had a snack. The town is pretty small and the locals rather colorful. One young man was sitting in a car next to me at the grocery store. He rolled down his window and asked me about my "lifestyle". Guess he figured all I did was ride around on the motorcycle visiting new places. Didn't realize I had a job and a life other than what he saw in front of him. Rather amusing... Heading out of town we jumped onto Buchanan Road which soon becomes Cottonwood. What fun! For the next couple of hours we had a blast romping through the hills up past Cherry Lake, down across the Tuolumne River and then back up towards Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. By late afternoon we reached the lodge in time to find Kari and Ben heading out for a run up to the reservoir. They had beat us up there with their direct route which in turn allowed them to chill a bit and then do a little exploring. Next up? The massage from hell! Ok, so maybe it wasn't quite that bad but from the way Laurel tells it it was rather funny. Masseuse talking a mile a minute, stopping to let the dog out, stopping to let the dog in, leaving the door wide open allowing the chill mountain air to come in while your laying there nekid on the table, setting scalding hot rocks directly onto your skin and more! Then it was my turn! My experience was much the same. Not sure how much more "relaxed" I was after that experience. Ah well, all part of the adventure. Dinner was wonderful with three folks ordering up the Elk steaks while I settled for a fabulous pasta dish. Yum! Great food, great company and a couple of bottles of wine had me ready for bed in no time. From what I hear Kari actually hit the sack before me! A first! In the morning Kari and Ben turned tail and ran for home. Laurel and I motored on up into the park. The trees were all changing color and the views fantastic! We stopped at Bridal Veil Falls for a photo or two and then wandered on over to the lodge for brunch. The selection was awesome and for $65 for two people quite good. We were definitely ready for naps after that feed! In time we saddled up and made our way to the high country. Our plan was to head up over the pass and then up 395 to Bridgeport. Not in our plan was an interview with Mr. Ranger Sir and an autograph session. Damn! I knew better than to wick it up but whups, I did. Only cost me $375. Ouch!!!! Ah well, road taxes paid we continued on over Tioga Pass and down to Lee Vining. There we stopped to admire Mono Lake before riding up to Bridgeport and a soak at Travertine. As usually happens at the hot springs we met some interesting folks, had a nice conversation and enjoyed a little single malt scotch while watching the sun settle down into the West. Gotta love it! In the morning we made tracks for Monitor Pass and Ebbitts Pass. Sonora was already close for the season thanks to some early snow. We had fun playing in the twisties with little traffic on a Monday morning. By mid afternoon we returned home. Just a tad over 600 miles served up with miles of smiles and great memories. Definitely something I plan to do again (well, maybe without the autograph session!). Happy Trails! Craig
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