YO-HO-HO-SEMITE!!!

A little light mountain goat
with your socks, madam?

Finally!!  Time to check Yosemite off my bucket list and from my 1,000 Places to See Before You Die book*.  As with all the best adventures, I was up before the sun and got up at 5.30am so I could get a quick email out (fortunately the internet was working again - huzzah!) and finished up my packing which I'd started late the night before.  I think i've probably ended up packing 10 t-shirts and 1 pair of pants, so the fashion on this trip could get rather random.  I said adios to the boys and left for Lori’s around 7am.  Lori lives in Walnut Creek and I wasn't sure how long it would take me to get there in the morning, but I actually got there super quick and arrived around quarter to 8.  I had a coffee and played with the cats while she finished her preps before setting off just before 9am.

I had a bit of work to finish, so worked on some slides for a presentation in car on way down.  I also took a couple of work calls on way, so ended up only feeling mildly guilty about being out of the office.  After about an hour, we took a quick pit-stop at a huge Bass Pro shop - I've seen these stores before but have never been inside one as I thought they only sold fishing stuff.  But Lori said that this was something I really really had to see, so inside we went.

Basil, basil, basil!!  Moose, moose, moose!!!

O.M.G.
Other than being my complete Outdoor Store Nirvana - camping equipment!  gadgets!  clothing with inordinate number of pockets!  shirts with built-in insect repellent! – it was incredible for another reason - namely the HUNDREDS of stuffed animals on the wall and scattered throughout the store. This place was literally a Temple of Taxidermy.  I've never seen anything like it.  My jaw literally hit the floor as I walked in through the (enormous) front door.  After regaining my sensibilities, we spent a fun hour tooling around – I didn't go too crazy - I only ended up buying a couple of tops, a stuffed bear pillow, some hiking socks and Wildlife Bingo.  More on that later.

We got back on the road by 11am and from there on it, it was a pretty easy drive to the Park.   On the way we drove through some old cowboy towns and gold country and - pictured - Oakdale's latest dating hotspot.

The singles scene in Oakdale can be somewhat basic

The views of the scenery got progressively more beautiful until, finally, by about 1.15pm, we rounded a corner and there it was.  My first glimpse of Half Dome.  And it was absolutely breathtaking.  And quite large.

A mighty fine lump of granite - Half Dome

Another half hour of driving got us to the entrance of Yosemite, where we paid our entrance fee and headed over to Curry Village where we were staying in one of their tented cabins.  And - yes.  In case you've been following the Yosemite story that's been in the news over the last couple of days.  Its THAT Curry Village and THOSE tented cabins where there is a current Hantavirus outbreak - its very rare but there have been a couple of deaths this summer, so its a little concerning.  If this blog goes quiet in about 1-6 weeks, then you know that it really will end up being one of those Places That I Got To See Before I Died.  Hopefully it won't come to that - that would be dead annoying, no pun intended.

Anyway, we got to CV around 2pm and lucked out with the Holy Trinity of Camping – we managed to bag a great parking spot, our tent cabin was already clean and ready for check in plus we scored one right near the car park and restrooms so didn't have to lug our stuff for miles (we were fully stocked up with earplugs and Ambien, so bring it on!).  We dumped our stuff in our cabins and finally went in search of food.  I’d had to take a work call earlier while we were parked up looking at Half Dome – although it was just for 15 mins sitting outside in the heat of the sun (it was about 100 degrees), it had already made me feel a bit heady and the lack of food probably hadn't helped.  Unlike other NPs, there is no cooking allowed at CV, so we were at the mercy of the food and concession offerings.   We checked out the Grill and settled on a turkey burger - quick, reasonably healthy and - most importantly of all - Loopyliscious-compliant.

The power-hungry Sofa Squirrel

After lunch, i hopped onto the wireless in the Lounge to send a quick email (I had to fight the squirrels for access to the power outlets), after which it was time to power down the Powerpoint and retire to the bar to relax with a couple of refreshing, low-calorie vodka sodas and Wildlife Bingo.  I'm afraid to say we caused a bit of a sensation.  Wildlife Bingo quickly became THE focus of attention of the bar, garnering envious glances from young and old alike.  The first game was extremely close and came down to the wire but - in the end - in a frenzy of card turning and no cheating whatsoever, Wolverine (me - WINNER!) took down Raccoon (Lori - LOSER!!).  After another game, I ended up 2-0 up and 3 vodkas down.

Booyah!! Drunken Wildlife Bingo
approaches its thrilling conclusion...

After that excitement, we were exhausted so a snooze seemed in order.  (getting old, moi?)  It was also VERY hot and sticky (it was still in the high 90's) so the heat just sapped your energy (OK, OK Cyprus bods - settle down - I know, I know).  It was bloody roasting in the cabin, but I think I managed to still drop off for a few minutes. 

I woke up around 4.30pm and couldn’t really be arsed to go for a bike ride that we'd talked about, so instead we headed back over to the lounge to make use of the wireless again.   Gotta love wilderness camping, right?  I ended up playing with some great new apps and checking my blog stats.   Not at all sad tecchie addicts.  Around 8pm, it was time to head to dinner.  Rather than the pizza stall or the Grill, we headed over to this large diner hall where dinner was served buffet style.  The food actually wasn't too bad – pretty basic meat, veg and starches, but the chicken was not as dry as expected and the veggies weren't completely boiled to death, although the carrots did have a somewhat unusual apple flavor to them.   Hopefully that's not the first symptom of Hantavirus infection.
After dinner, it was time for just one final nightcap before retiring for bed, ready for an early start and some great hiking in the morning!