Framedlight

There is no 'gas' station in Yosemite Valley, the nearest is at Crane Flat which you come to just after leaving the valley. We were terribly short of fuel, down to 1/4 tank which in a 3.8 litre gas guzzler is not good. After our relaxed leaving we got to the petrol station in high hopes only to be told they had no fuel and the nearest was in the Toluomne meadows on the Tioga Road a good 1 ½  hours away. If they had none (which the garage at Crane Flat thought highly likely) we would have to continue to Lee Vining, well out of the park and 2 hours away. We would be running on gas! What to do but carry on. The Tioga Road passes through high country and runs east to the Park's exit through a landscape of golden grass, pine trees and granite domes. There is a broad parking spot at Olmsted Point where there is a view over granite and glacial erratics, through Tenaya Canyon, past Clouds Rest to the north side of the Half Dome. You can walk on the rocky, gritty edges and get gr...

We had set the alarm for a 5.30 call, but slept through it till about 6.00am, as our intention was to get up to Glacier Point for dawn. We were camped just under it but to get to the top is a 45minute car trip round twisty roads, so we threw our clothes on and Mairi decided she would like to drive which she did, as fast as she could (Yosemite has a 20mph speed limit through the valley). We had got close to the top at Washburn Point when things started to happen fast, the sky was brightening and there was a line of about 6 standing photographers pointing down the valley. I joined them and we took a couple of pictures before going back to the car and continuing for about 7 miles to Glacier Point from where we watched the sun hit the top of the Half Dome. Yosemite Falls would be visible in these pictures earlier in the year but by now was non-existent. You can see the Half Dome (8,842ft) on the right opposite North Dome and Basket Dome on the left hand side. The valley follows the river d...

We woke early and had breakfast from the picnic bench on our site with the company of a few hopeful ravens. Here is the car we rented, a Dodge Grand Caravan, with Mairi standing next to it. There were two opposing sets of seats in the rear, one of which had been taken out and replaced with a wooden storage box where we kept our bags and the bed linen. At night a foam mattress was unfurled to give a double bed and it was pretty comfortable. In the 'trunk' was a small sink from which the plug was missing  - we did not find one to fit until nearly the end of the holiday and made do with sponges squeezed in to stop the water flowing away. We also had a 2 burner camping stove and a box of rather battered bowls, plates and cutlery, one saucepan and a frying pan. Only one spoon unfortunately but we found a plastic one in the Yosemite shop to supplement. Also was provided one 5 gallon fresh water container and one for the waste to drain into. We rented a cooler box which ran from a 12 ...