First a follow up on the whole truck situation- apparently, the header that we had installed doesn't use gaskets, but the bolts that hold the header in place had loosened, just causing issues. Luckily, there was a mechanic in Mariposa that had the time and inclination to trouble shoot. Thank goodness for small town sentiments!
The kids and I walked the loops of the KOA to get some exercise while we waited for Joe to come back. They weren't pleased, but after doing dishes, were willing to walk with me. We got a bit of exercise- and they put in time waiting for the pool to open. Joe got back just before 10:00- and we headed out for the park.
I have so many pics- and of course, with the lack of connectivity, am not going to upload any for a while. I promise to add photos when we are in a situation that will support it.
Meanwhile- some information about the park. The Merced River runs through the park, mostly rough white water that would be killer in a kayak, if one were into that. Crazy rapids and huge granite rocks created some amazing images. Then there was the rock slide on the way to the park- closed a large stretch of the road- they figured out to do a single lane around it, with stop lights to work the transition between directions. We all decided that we hoped no one was there when the rocks slid!
The entrance to Yosemite is through overhanging rocks- too cool. The ride takes us into the hills, following the Merced River with lots of places to pull off and view- which we did. The rocks everywhere, falls in several directions- one enormous rock called El Capitan- just amazing. We only saw squirrels, nothing like buffalo (though there are lots of black bear warnings- including a sign that reads "Speeding Kills Bears"- and apparently there are lots of cougers there, as well, but they are reclusive.
(We parked to see Bridalveil Falls and look more closely at the fall and El Capitan, and then decided to unload our bicycles. Kira and I were riding together- we passed the sign, on our bikes, and thought that probably, if we were to hit a bear while on a bike, he would shake it off and WE would end up in serious trouble. "Man, the mosquitos are getting big this year!" Kira said," Mama!" in that you-are-such-a-nut voice. :o))
Aside from the driver idiocy- really, do you HAVE to speed up when you see a turn signal??? REALLY?!? It was much more pleasant than the drive Jennifer and I took through Yellowstone so many years ago- with people using the pullouts to view. It was crazy crowded, but most of the people were courteous.
After we drove up to see the Tunnel View- goregous! (pics to follow)- we were heading out and I noticed groups of people staring up at El Capitan with binoculars. I told Joe that there must be climbers, so he pulled over to look- and sure enough, there were two groups of 3 climbers. He took pics- while being eaten alive by mosquitos- so will add one or two of those, as well.
We will head back tomorrow- with lunch this time because we all got a bit cranky, even with snacks- and having "linner" at 3:20 or so just didn't cut it. We will also get back in time for the kids to hit the pool- which they mentioned all day, but we just didn't make it back in time. They were pretty good about it- and had a good time today.
Getting ready to look at pics and turn in. More tomorrow!
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