Day 23

Rising early, we took advantage of the little time we had at Lone Pine to have a dip in the motel pool, the contrast of the grey granite mountains of the Sierra Nevada with the clear blue sky providing a gorgeous backdrop in the morning sunshine. As soon as the kids began to arrive at the pool, it was time to pack up and head to Yosemite National Park.
First stop, however, was Mono Lake - a salt basin in North East California that sports a bizarre collection of calcium-carbonate spires (known as tufa) rising from the water, caused by spring water bubbling up through the bottom of the lake, which is high in salt and minerals and “makes for a delightfully buoyant swimming experience” according to the park literature. Braving the brine shrimp, as well as the thousands of flies buzzing around the shoreline to lay their eggs in the water, Matthew therefore waded out to enjoy bobbing about on the surface of the lake like a poo that won’t flush away.
Following a picnic lunch by the lake, it was off to Bodie State Park to explore a real wild west ghost town - a gold rush boomtown with a population of 10000 at its height. After a tortuous drive up yet another winding mountain road, the last 3 miles of which were unpaved, we arrived with only half an hour to spare before the park closed - a real shame as this was a unique experience and it would have been great to have had more time to explore the eerily deserted streets and abandoned, decrepit buildings. As it was, we rushed about snapping pics like a pair of Japanese tourists, before jumping back in the car to head to Yosemite Valley.
This, we had worked out, was only about an hour away, and sure enough after about this time we found ourselves entering Yosemite National Park. What we hadn’t realised is that the Valley is only a small part of the National Park, which is massive and involves yet more twisty mountain roads! By the time we finally arrived at our destination it was dark - not the best conditions in which to unload absolutely every food/drink item and scented product from your car to lock in a bear-proof locker outside your tent cabin! Having done this, checked in and signed a form to say we were ‘bear aware’, we went for a surprisingly good pizza in the camp lodge before retiring to our single beds to shiver in the dark, a sheet of canvas the only barrier between us and a potential bear. Fortunately, the only wildlife we encountered on the walk back to the tent were a raccoon and a skunk, but at least, if one does come knocking, we are bear aware.