Beating the miles

It feels like I'm running against the clock here trying to squeeze every minute I've got in every place I'm at but this Monday (15.08) in San-Francisco I've decided to take things a bit easier and see the Japanese tea garden 

I really enjoy the relaxing vibe you get while walking in such places, everything is so calm.

The garden is located right next to the Golden Gate Park which we visited next; it's hard to believe how public parks can be so well maintained.

[Full House]

Nearby is Alamo Square some of you might remember it from the opening theme of "Full House" the sitcom, I've tried locating the spot from where they shot this picture but couldn't find it.

I've left San-Francisco taking the Golden Bridge, riding on it was quite an experience the fresh ocean air is so rice and crisp, The bridge itself is an impressive piece of work its size and the scene from it of the city is gorgeous. Crossing it making my way to Yosemite park.

[trash can]

We've reached Yosemite a bit late then we expected, our pre reserved camp ground was in Wawona an area within this national park, finding it in the darkness wasn't easy… after some searching we've finally made camp at around 22:30, sleeping with a mattress beneath the sleeping bag made a huge difference! Still the cold morning had wakened me up early.

Quickly packing our gear we chose to take the higher ground and visit glacier point the ride up hill was stunning trees, rivers, ponds, and meadow create unique scenery which won't let you keep your eyes on the road. Sadly there was a fire during the night which was controlled during our ride, luckily for us the roads remained open. From time to time the road took a goldish orange like color from a burning tree nearby. Reaching the top the view was marvelous despite the rising smoke we could see the valley way way down below us, the domes and waterfalls at the far end seemed so powerful.

Backtracking to the valley we passed by many hiking tracks People were enjoying the great outdoors some cycling some fishing others just pulling on the side of the road taking pictures. Reaching Yosemite's visiting center I wonder if my grandfather and grandmother had also been here, 

I've saved the best for last the gigantic sequoia trees I hope the pictures gives you an idea of how big these tress really are.

Unfortunately we had to leave Yosemite after only one day, just to get out of the park took us quite a while the sun was setting and the air was dead cold, but still the view just kept on getting better and better.

A quite review on the roads here might be in order; first there are no lights on most roads which is reasonable considering the number and length of the roads here, so at nighttime you're driving in pitch black which has an upside to it; you can see the many stars which you usually don't see but that’s where the benefits ends. Traffic lights are a bit different to start with you're allowed to turn right on red, turning left is tricky it depends on the junction some junctions gives you a general green while at the same time gives green to traffic crossing you, so cautions is a must. It took me a while to get used to it, in general I can say that American (at least the ones I've met so far) drivers are much more patients than the average Israeli driver.

Last night we opt to sleep in a motel after a night of camping a hot shower sure sounds nice, unfortunately all motels we've checked we're sold out, so we've decided to camp yet again searching for camp grounds we've found one nearby locating it on map was easy finding on the road wasn't, so after an hour of searching we've decided to camp at a grassy spot at the very end of a shopping center parking lot, at first I was nervous sleeping in such a spot fearing someone might notice us. But we've had only four hours to rest before we head early to Nevada to avoid the desert sun.

Key turn engine ignite 04:20 we were on our way.

At first riding in dark slowly but surely the sun was rising up a mountain somewhere in the desert welcoming a new day and reminding me of my final objective, East.

Riding straight roads which starched to the horizon the ones you see movies hurrying up to escape the sun I've reached a crossroad with a sign Vages 168 miles looking at my gauges display to see how many miles I've got left in my tank, 168, I should be just fine.










One week and two days around 2400 km

View Directions to I-15 S in a larger map