Wild West road trip - day 2 - Yosemite

[TrueBlue]

Day 2...

Had a fab nights sleep and really surprised ourselves by not waking up till 7am. This however wasn't the plan! I 'assumed' we'd be awake at 5am or before but hey ho we slept in on our first day

I wanted to have showered, packed, breakfast and on the road for 8am so we could arrive in Yosemite about 1pm but it wasn't to be.

We all got showered and dressed and headed to Ihop just up the street a bit for our first breakfast.

We nipped back to the hotel and packed the car up again...

And by 9.15 we were on our way out of San Francisco and heading for some heat in Yosemite. It was only 57 degrees when we left the hotel brrrrrr

We stopped off a Walmart on the way and we stocked up on some snacks, water, beer and a water cooler to keep ice in.

I was very surprised when the checkout guy asked for my ID for the beer. I wouldn't mind but i'm 46 and look every single one of those years too.

So anyway... back on the road and the temperature outside starts to heat up nicely about 2 hours into our Journey and there was not 1 cloud in the sky. This is what we'd been waiting for.

We soon started seeing sign posts for Yosemite and I knew we were getting closer

We arrived at our hotel (Yosemite View Lodge) in El Portal. I was so gutted that we couldn't stay inside the park this time but i'd been trying for over a year to book and there was no availability. I tried everywhere online, emailed them direct and even phoned them but there was nothing. We stayed at Yosemite Lodge at the Falls 2 years ago at the exact same time too and got booked with no problems. But this was apparently the next best place to stay so I booked it about 9 months before we left.

We pulled up at the hotel about 1.30pm and went to check in. Was very happy with the first impressions of the place and the staff were super friendly. They did advise us though that our room wasn't ready yet and to check back around 3pm.

So we decided to drive into Yosemite Valley and go back to the hotel we stayed in last year (now called Yosemite Valley Lodge) and go for lunch. We really enjoyed eating in the food court here last year.

Our hotel was only a 2 mile drive to the park entrance (where we purchased our annual pass). But from our hotel to the valley floor it was about a 20 min drive which wasn't too bad to be honest.

We managed to get parked at the hotel in the over spill car park and headed for lunch. I can't remember what we all had as I didn't take notes but i'm sure I had a salad and some fresh fruit.

After lunch we went back to the car and decided to drive to House Keeping Camp. We went here 2 years ago to do our laundry and came across the most amazing beach area with fantastic views. We arrived a few minutes later and it's just exactly how I remembered it ...

It's just incredible! There was lots of families chilling out and having fun. Just the way it should be. I dipped my toes in the water but it was a bit chilly so didn't go in much further

I could honestly have stayed here for hours but time was getting on and we were starting to get tired so decided at 6pm to head back to our hotel for the night.

We went back to check in and our room was ready. I had booked a preferred room with a view of the river (since I was still in a huff at not staying inside the park itself lol).

We got our room keys and drove up to it. There is about 6 separate blocks and we were in the furthest away one (not a problem at all though). Our room was on the 3rd floor and there's no lift so we did a couple of trips back and forward to the car and got everything in the room.

The room was a good size and was nice and cool. The curtains were closed that lead out to the balcony so I walked over to open them straight away as I couldn't wait to see the view and we were greeted by this...

It was absolutely incredible! I opened the patio doors and the noise of the river was soooo loud. I knew there and then that I was going to love staying here

Although the room was basic it was very clean and we had a small kitchen area with fridge, cooker, micro wave and coffee making machine. The bathroom was HUGE! And we had a spa bath in there too (which we didn't get to use as had no time). There was also a fire too for those going in the winter months and looking for cosy nights in

By now it was almost 9pm so decided to head to the pizza place for something to eat. This is at the hotel. We just got a large pizza and some drinks to take back to our room

We sat on our balcony eating dinner and watching the sun go down over the mountains whilst listening to the thundering river below us.

I couldn't have asked for anything better. I was so happy at this point and couldn't wait till tomorrow to explore Yosemite again.

We managed to stay up till 11pm then crashed out.

Tomorrow... more Yosemite

[tocpe321]

What a fantastic day. Loving those pictures of Yosemite!

Can't wait to go there.

[jocat]

Yosemite looks amazing, as does your hotel - would love that view. I'm actually regretting booking the Yosemite Valley Lodge now.

[Melbatb]

It looks amazing - got to love the sound of a river!

[TrueBlue]

Originally Posted by tocpe321

What a fantastic day. Loving those pictures of Yosemite!

Can't wait to go there.

See more...

Definitely try and find Housekeeping Camp and the beach area. It's just beautiful. You need to pick up a park map as it's not easy to locate. But it is in the valley next to all the other hotels etc . It's just easy to miss it.

Once you park your car you have to walk through the camp (it's all canvass tents etc) and you'll come to the merced river and beach area. It's absolutely beautiful

You're in for a real treat. We spent 3 days in Yosemite, i'll put another post up tonight

[TrueBlue]

Originally Posted by jocat

Yosemite looks amazing, as does your hotel - would love that view. I'm actually regretting booking the Yosemite Valley Lodge now.

See more...

I loved staying at Yosemite Valley Lodge too. Waking up in the valley is fantastic.

As much as I loved Yosemite view lodge, if I could stay in the valley again for our next trip then I definitely would.

The traffic on our next couple of days was horrendous that it took us almost 2 hours to get out one night. I'll explain more when I get to day 3 and 4

[TrueBlue]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

It looks amazing - got to love the sound of a river!

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Was so relaxing listening to it

[jocat]

Originally Posted by TrueBlue

I loved staying at Yosemite Valley Lodge too. Waking up in the valley is fantastic.

As much as I loved Yosemite view lodge, if I could stay in the valley again for our next trip then I definitely would.

The traffic on our next couple of days was horrendous that it took us almost 2 hours to get out one night. I'll explain more when I get to day 3 and 4

See more...

That's good to hear. The heavy traffic does not sound fun.

[christybell]

What a view ... Pizza on the balcony sounds like bliss to me with a view like that.

Not a bad Plan B

[tocpe321]

Originally Posted by TrueBlue

Definitely try and find Housekeeping Camp and the beach area. It's just beautiful. You need to pick up a park map as it's not easy to locate. But it is in the valley next to all the other hotels etc . It's just easy to miss it.

Once you park your car you have to walk through the camp (it's all canvass tents etc) and you'll come to the merced river and beach area. It's absolutely beautiful

You're in for a real treat. We spent 3 days in Yosemite, i'll put another post up tonight

See more...

Many thanks.