Since I don't have access to my photos at the moment, this picture-in-words summary will have to do.
We were on the road to Yosemite (a.k.a. Highway 101) by 7:30 a.m. on Friday. We made the usual stops in Los Banos for coffee and Merced for gas. Traffic was light and we only had a five-minute wait at the new two-bridge bypass on Highway 140 where the Ferguson Rock Slide took place. I have a story about the bypass, but I'll write about it in another entry.
[begin random digression] Notice how I just linked to an entry I haven't written yet? I call it future-linking or flinking. I imagine most web experts would say flinking is poor internet etiquette and they're probably right. Of course, by the time you read this, I'll have written and posted the entry I have yet to write, thereby making the flink a link, restoring order to the blog-time continuum and appeasing the so-called web experts. [end random digression]
We reached the Arch Rock Entrance around 11:00 a.m. and made our way to the Tioga Road. The plan was to visit Mono Lake, Lee Vining and the Whoa Nellie Deli, a restaurant a reader recommended. Due to a few slow vehicles and one-too-many stops to take photos along the way (I couldn't help myself), we didn't reach Tuolumne Meadows until well after noon. According to my calculations, that didn't leave a whole lot of time to visit everywhere we wanted and return to Yosemite Valley without rushing around and spending less than the desirable amount of time at any one spot.
So, after a brief bout of agonizing, we decided to explore the area around Tuolumne Meadows instead and save Mono Lake and the rest for another trip. This decision led to a solo hike to Lembert Dome and Dog Lake, which I'll detail in another entry (no flink provided) complete with photos and possibly words.
M is still dealing with an injured foot, so she was unable to join me on the hike. It's a less than ideal situation, but a short-lived one, I hope. Hiking alone is fun, but hiking is more fun when done with somebody else. While I hiked, M read and did some non-injury-aggravating exploring around the dome. We returned to Yosemite Valley by 5:00 p.m. and registered at Curry Village. We ate in and retired early in preparation for a big Saturday.
On Saturday, we were up before seven, eating at Degnan's Deli before eight and I was at the Happy Isles trail head by nine. My plan was to hike to Glacier Point by way of the Mist, John Muir and Panorama Trails and down to the valley again via the Four-Mile Trail. A 13-mile hike became a fast-paced, 5.5-hour journey as I attempted to return to Yosemite Village in time for a three o'clock gallery showing of original prints by Ansel Adams. Again, an actual hike report (with photos) is forthcoming (but not flinked... yet).
Later that evening, we dined at Yosemite Lodge, ate ice cream at the Curry lounge and retired early. I should note that I was exhausted from the day's hike and wanted nothing more than to sleep for a length of time equaling, if not exceeding, eight hours for a change.
Of course, if you sleep that long, then time flies, so Sunday morning came rather abruptly. We were up again before seven, eating at Degnan's before eight and then lounging around the village and the Ahwahnee for the rest of the morning. Around one in the afternoon, we said farewell to Yosemite and arrive home right around five. And that concludes the all-text summary of our weekend trip.
