Yosemite Cram

After the hustle and bustle of San Francisco we were keen to hit the open road and see the "real" America, the way "real" Americans see it - the Road America, by car. We'd booked a Mustang convertible but with the usual rental car shenanigans we ended up with a Toyota Solara convertible - basically a soft-top Camry with droopy corners that somebody must think make it look "sporty". A pretty major let-down, but at least it was red.


After nipping down through Silicon Valley and seeing the lovely Carmel-by-the-Sea, we headed east - our destination, the legendary Yosemite National Park. Although we only had about half a day to see this magnificent park (people used to stay for weeks) we absolutely loved it.



We even took a tour with Ranger Greg and learnt about the art of Bear Management (or, as he kept reminding us: People Management). The rangers have been pitting their wits against the wily Black Bears for years - but every time they come up with a new ingenious "bear-proof" device, the persistence, intelligence and strength of the hungry animals comes out on top. The trouble is, when the bears get accustomed to the sugary rubbish most Americans feed on, they become reluctant to go back to berries and acorns...


We were slightly unlucky that the authorities had chosen this particular day to perform a controlled burn to prevent wildfires - thus making some of the views a bit hazy:


- but it was still a stunning place. As we departed Yosemite the sun was setting and the temperature dropped like a stone - but we braved the cold to get some snaps of the glacially-smoothed valleys at the eastern end of the park.