Yosemite

01-14-2015: Our 31st anniversary. Our drive up was uneventful and we found a campsite in the Upper Pines, number 99.  The Upper Pines campground is the only one open on the valley floor. We are told there are a total of 4 campgrounds open, one for just tents, but it is unclear just what campgrounds these are.

Yosemite Valley, Enduring Beauty

We didn’t investigate the campground situation any further since we have a campsite. In the winter you find your site and set up, then go to the reservation area to pay. $20 is the regular price per night but with the senior discount it is $10. generator operating hours are 7-9am, 12-2pm, and 5-7pm, which is odd, but apparently they just want generators running for those who need them to prepare meals, etc.  Our fees are paid and we decided to drive over too the Yosemite Lodge to see where we will be eating our dinner. It is first come, first served with no reservations at the Mountain Room Restaurant. This used to be called the Yosemite Lodge Grill, it is where we ate  our wedding night dinner. After checking that out and understanding where we will park for dinner, we went on to take a little drive back toward the Lower Yosemite Falls trail and walked along that lovely, easy, developed trail. It is handicapped accessible so you know it is a very improved trail. To our surprise, dogs were allowed to Tony enjoyed the walk with us. At the foot of the falls another couple offered to take our photo and we thanked them and told them it was our anniversary!  It was their anniversary too!  Third anniversary for them, 31 for us. Someone else already took their photo for them so we said farewell and made our way back to the Jeep and on to our dinner.

Lower Yosemite Falls

There was a little confusion as to if they were actually open or not but they were, they just opened late. The lodge area seems very different to us, of course it was a winter wonderland when we came for our honeymoon. Otherwise, it really is different. Not only does the restaurant have a different name, it has been expanded and of course remodeled. Our waiter Jeff has been working there just over 30 years so he was able to tell us some of expansion details. We had a lovely seat by the window with a view of the Upper Falls as the sun faded. I had a delicious filet mignon and John had the lamb shank. They had one of our favorite wines on the menu and we enjoyed that as well. As a surprise they brought us a huge bowl of chocolate and vanilla ice cream for our anniversary dessert.

Happy Anniversary

It was very cold when we left the restaurant. It was a quick walk for Tony and short drive back to our nice, warm trailer. Once again we seem to be having battery problems. I won’t go into the details but apparently the battery charges but does not hold a charge. We ran our generator until after the appointed time but even at that we lost all power. We bundled up and turned everything off and settled in for the night. This is annoying since this is a fairly new battery that we purchased last June when we were in Jackson Hole, WY.

01-15-2015: We were warm enough when in bed last night, the Casita has pretty good insulation. At 7am John went out and started the generator. We debated about just going home but we played cards after breakfast as the sun was in our campsite and it was very comfortable. Boy did the temperature change once the sun went behind the mountains so we finished up the cards, watched a video, and had a snack instead of lunch. Then we decided to head home. My troublesome knee was not up to another walk today. It doesn’t take long to stow everything and head out. I will add they have a free dump station at the campground.

Our Campsite #99

The trip home was uneventful but once we dropped into the valley we hit a solid bank of fog! It was unnerving at best but it cleared slightly as we came into town. We are happy to be home sitting by our fireplace this evening. However, we are very glad we went and we had a great time. The Jeep handled wonderfully and pulled the trailer in a remarkable manner. It was a very nice anniversary trip.