10-02-09
George & I had another day of fun! Thursday we took a ride up to Yosemite & it turned out to be a real nice day. It was quite cool early in the morning when we started out & the winds were blowing dust around out in the valley, but other than that it was great. George & I left our homes at the same time & met on highway 132 west of Modesto then continued on to Merced for breakfast at good old Denny's. After eating & fueling up, we then went on hwy 140 on up to Mariposa & on into Yosemite. When we arrived at the entrance, it had warmed up enough that we stopped & removed our coats. Wrong move, as we drove into the valley under the trees & shade boy it turned cold BRRR, but it soon warmed up so that made it OK. Yosemite Valley is just as beautiful as always but it is very dry. The river was just puddles of water & Bridal Veil Falls was just barely running. As soon as we got in the valley we stopped at the buss yard to see our friend Diana & visited for a while. She told us that we picked a good time to see her because next week she would be leaving for a while to take care of her mother so that worked out well. When I worked in the park she was my boss (very nice lady). George & I then got on the free shuttle buss & took a ride around the park & after looking everything over, had lunch & headed for home. We decided to go home a different way so we left on hwy 120 to just west of Buck meadows to the road that goes to Coulterville & hwy 132. The road is a little twisty but a nice ride & then at Coulterville, we got on hwy 132 & went on west to Modesto. We went by a couple big lakes & along a river (Tuolumne) I think. After leaving Modesto we headed west. When we got to hwy I-5 George turned north toward home & I continued on to hwy 580 & on to Walnut creek ending a real fun day & we are now waiting for the fourth to go to the Ride for Kids in Fairfield. As ever Herb.