Tuesday 25 October: Death Valley to Yosemite

Zabriskie Point promises unearthly landscapes, and a wonderful place to watch the sun rise or set. So we got up early (this is becoming a habit) and drove the short distance from Furnace Creek to Zabriskie Point. Unfortunately the eastern horizon was blanketed in dark clouds, so there was no real sunrise light. Never mind - it was a pretty spectacular place and we got some reasonable pictures.

The clouds held promise of a thunderstorm, and there was indeed one almighty crack of thunder just as we were leaving. But that was the extent of it, and the sky soon cleared. We drove north under the hot desert sky, then turned west to cross the Inyo mountains. The road was narrow and twisting, with some very deep cuts and fills. It was also steep - an uphill grade for about 20 miles, always over 5% and in places up to 9 or 10%. On the other side of the mountains the road swooped down into another deep valley. The little Malibu really wasn't cut out for this type of driving, and really struggled up the hills.

We turned north and passed along the foot of the Sierras through the little towns of Lone Pine, Big Pine, Independence and Bishop (where we had a picnic lunch). At length we saw Mono Lake on the right, and turned left into the mountains. Suddenly all was ice and snow as we traversed the Tioga Pass. We were still wearing our t-shirts from the desert, and it was a shock when we opened the car window to pay the Yosemite Park entry fee.

The east-west road through the park offers some great views, but nothing to match those as we entered Yosemite Valley itself. This is a glacial valley with towering cliffs and mountains on every side. It's definitely the most spectacular natural scenery we have visited on our trip. The trees were all turning red and gold, and we had high hopes for some great photos next day. (It was getting pretty late by then).

We checked in at the Yosemite Lodge, got our little talk on being "bear aware" and signed a form to prove it. The room is very comfortable, though (as usual) the lighting is inadequate. The external lighting is extremely poor here, and all guests are encouraged to carry a "flashlight". Unfortunately, ours had broken and we didn't yet have a replacement. After an ill-fated trip to the laundromat (the road was closed) we groped our way to the cafeteria for dinner, then stumbled back through the darkness to our room. And so to bed.