May 12 Brunch; May 13 Yosemite

Sunday, May 12 – Mother’s Day.  Had calls from both girls and oldest granddaughter!  Smiling.  Went to brunch at the Elk’s where we are staying.  Lovely food and good company.  Included a corsage for the ladies.  Relaxed the rest of the day

Monday we started out about 11 AM.  Headed again up Highway 41 to Yosemite.  (Again so grateful for our “senior” status so we got in free.  $20 otherwise for a 7 day pass.) Took the Yosemite Village loop. It takes about 45 minutes to drive from the entrance gate to the tunnel and the “tunnel view.”  As soon as you come out of the tunnel you see El Capitan.  And it is magnificent!

 

 

Jerry at another overlook.

A little later there is a better view of Bridalvail Falls.  Wow!

Unusual rocks…looks like a glacier gouged them out…???

 

  

Lunch stop at a rushing stream.  Love the sound.

L

More waterfall and unusual rock photos:

Beautiful meadow in Yosemite.  We were going to go to the museum in Yosemite Village but signage is really lacking and unclear when you do find one.  The map wasn’t any better.  Couldn’t figure out where to park and got on a one-way road with no way of going back without going miles.  Oh well…enjoying scenery and the ride.  It is 90 degrees down here – probably about 70 in the upper areas.

 

Back at the entrance, there is a 2-mile road to the parking for the trails to see Mariposa Grove Sequoia trees.  They are magnificent.  In reading some of the signs there, they are a relative of the Redwoods and like the redwoods, only grow in specific areas in CA.  There are several different hikes from about 1-6 miles to see the various famous trees.  Or you could take a tram for $18 each.  We didn’t do any of these options.

In the enclosure by this huge tree, we saw one of these flowers and also on the way back down highway 41 we saw one of these.  Brilliant in the sun.  Just seem to pop up out of the ground.

 

Back to the Elk’s Lodge and about 10 of us enjoyed burgers on the grill with all the trimmings, leftover fruit and desserts from Sunday’s brunch.  Again enjoyed spending time with new friends, Ken and Vicky Tripp who are parked next to us.  They have a home base in Fallon, NV where Ken is retired from the Navy base the.  They, too, have people renting their house and are full-timing for a while.