If you have read my blog yesterday, you will have seen that I lost my bank card. God what a pain! And I just don't know where it has gone either. I suspect I left in an ATM at the town I visited after Death Valley, but the bank says it’s not there - so buggered if I know. Otherwise it got sucked out of my bag at 180mph across to the Sequoia Nat. Park.
Anyway, I spent the whole morning mucking around trying to sort out a replacement card and how to get money. This really delayed my departure into Yosemite's. Also, I didn't expect after riding 15 miles to the entrance of the park I would have ride another 36 miles to get to the famous rocks and valley. So after blasting along this gorgeous 35 mph road at 70 mph, I did eventually make it to the Valley and got some cracker photos while the sun was setting. But unfortunately this meant it was about to get very dark and it was already turning very very cold.
So my options were to a) ride back in the dark for over an hour (because there was no way I could sustain the same sort of speed at night and risk having a problem and then being eaten by bears, or just dying from the freezing), or b) find some accommodation in the park. So after heading for the Yosemite's Valley Village, the place opens up to a quite a sizeable township. After stopping at what I thought was a big lodge, turns out to be a huge Parks and Rangers facility. They direct me to the closest public accommodation, which turns out to be fruitless as they are fully booked. The guy behind the counter gives 3 options, a) ride 50 miles back to the town I stayed at last night, b) ride 45 miles to a different town or c) stay in the swankiest hotel in Yosemite's just 3 mins down the road.
He says that I am luck too because it's quiet after Thanks Giving so they have a special on their rooms at $190/night - but normally they are $485/night!! Man that is still expensive for one person, considering I have been averaging about $60. But after thinking about riding for an hour in bitterly cold weather in thick forest, probably full of deer just wait to jump out on me, the extra $130 was sounding pretty good, plus I'm sure the place is flash and I would also be right in the middle of the park for sunrise and some great photography before I leave. Anyway I managed to get a room and the place is pretty special. I can't wait to see the outside of it in the morning. The place is called the 'Ahwahnee Hotel' and has hosted several American Presidents, included JFK, the Queen and numerous superstar Hollywood actors. It is supposed to be one of the top hotels in North America. Check it out: http://www.yosemitefun.com/ahwahnee.htm
So I made use of the bath and had a magnificent hot soak for about an hour before hitting the dining room followed by a lounge in front of the biggest open wood fire place I have ever seen, with an Irish Coffee and where I am writing this blog from.
So tomorrow I need to get out of the park by 9-ish and head back to the town Oakhurst where I should be able to collect some money from the bank that is being wired to me from Visa Intl. From then it's onto San Francisco to get a picture of me at the Golden Gate Bridge and then it's straight down the Pacific Coast Hwy to Los Angeles. Yosemite's is definitely a magnificent place. In fact it has that same awe inspiring feeling of Rio. I would love to see this place in late spring with flowers, greenery and snow. Wow what a place!
Enjoy these pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/jamesc71/43YosemitesNationalPark
ttfn
J.
Ps. Hey Eric, I cannot believe you based jumped off El Capitan. You are one mad bad mofo dude!
