Christian Kemp's USA travelogs

< Previous | List | Next > Drive Tioga road out of Yosemite, stopping at Tuolomne Meadows, Mono Lake and Bodie Ghost Town

Looking towards Yosemite Valley from Olmsted Point, with Half Dome barely visible in the center of the picture The night in the tent cabin was getting pretty chilly as the new day was dawning, so I was actually glad to get up and take a shower. This was the only time we had to use shared showers on the trip, and it's not really something I would have liked to do every day, since they weren't exactly clean. But I survived it. :)

We got into the car around 10pm and left Yosemite Valley, heading towards Tioga Road. Our first stop was at Olmsted Point, where you can get a nice view of Half Dome from a different perspective.

Our next stop was Tenaya Lake, a typical high mountain lake with clear blue water.

Next up was Tuolumne Meadows, where we only walked a short time because my feet were killing me. I would have liked to stay much longer though. The green of the trees, the grey of the mountains, the blue of the skies, everything seemed so pure and so peaceful.

After exiting Yosemite N.P. via the Tioga Pass Entrance, we descended towards Lee Vining. Winds were exceptionally strong, and at an unpaved pullover I took a small detour of a few meters and promptly grounded the bottom of the car on some stones. Nothing bad happened though, and anyway, this would just be the first time of a few such occasions.

Looking at Mono Lake. The black shadow along the water is actually millions of alkali flies. The funny thing about Mono Lake is that at first, you think that the water is surrounded by black dirt. As you approach, you can see that there are millions of small flies buzzing there. Contrary to normal flies though, these don't seem to be attracted to humans, so you can safely step closer without being viciously attacked. :)

The Tufas, what might be described as mineral deposits, look strangely unfamiliar; but at least at the place we stopped, they aren't overly impressive.

Next up was a small excursion to Bodie, probably one of the largest remaining ghost towns. Bodie is a State Park, so a 2$ entrance fee applies, but it's well worth it since there are a lot of snapshot opportunities as the town is in a state of arrested decay, so that buildings are more or less in the same state than they were fifty or a hundred years ago.

I'm not sure if it was the heat, or the fact that there was little protection from the sun, but after a while I had such a headache that I had to return to the car, run the A/C on full power, and be glad to be on the passenger seat while we drove to Bishop.

Miles driven: 205mi (330km)

Motel/Hotel Accommodation: Comfort Inn (Bishop, CA): $71.99 plus 9% tax