Freakin’ big......just freakin’ big!
After a day and a half on the back of a bike I have solved every problem in the world, written a best selling novel and produced a full stand-up comedy show - all in my head - and I am sick of the sound of my own voice - in my head. First stop for gas and I purchase a cheap ass pair of ear buds so that I can listen to the music on my phone (unfortunately at the stage it’s limited to Adele “21” and a karaoke version of Bruno Mars “I think I Wanna Marry You” but at least it’s something!)
Coming out of Death Valley it wasn’t long before we felt a substantial drop in temperature so we pulled over into a rest area to prepare. The roadside rest areas are frequent and really well looked after - abundant clean restrooms and picnic areas. This time it was for a re-fit...out come my thermal underwear - top and bottom and an extra pair of socks.....I wasn’t leaving anything to chance (you know how much I hate the cold). We entered the national park and I was breathless - I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m no great nature lover or a watcher of documentaries so had no idea what to expect (to be honest I thought we were going to Jellystone to see Yogi Bear).
I was awestruck - I thought the Grand Canyon was big but this is on a different level altogether. From now on I shall look upon The Rock and a mere grain of sand.
The ride was absolutely stunning through the pass and as the day went on it got colder.......We arrived at our inn near the entrance to Yosemite Valley and warmed up with a hot spa in the room and a few beers ready to tackle the morning.
After yesterday’s experience we thought we should be prepared for the cold - I put on almost everything I was carrying - thermal underwear, 2 pair of socks, jeans, t-shirt, merino long sleeve top, jumper along with waterproof pants and my bike jacet......I even put on an extra face mask! Rolling on to the bike like Michellan man, we continued the journey back into the park - first stopping at El Capitan, a world renowned rock climbing Mecca......No photo can possibly do this justice
On the way back out we stopped here again as you could just see climbers - they were like tiny little ants here and there.
Arriving in the main park there were 100s of people camping even though it’s off season and there’s people wandering around everywhere.......and it was bloody warm!
I was excited to be seeing the falls.....
until we got there........
Yeah ok - they were the Lower Falls, but just imagine the disappointment if I’d walked all the way to the Upper Falls!
Altogether, it was amazing and if you were a hiker (not me I’m afraid) you could easily stay for a week.
Leaving Yosemite we had a long ride ahead of us to the Napa Valley. On the way we had the most awesomest motorcycle ride I have ever experienced - miles and miles of twisting and turning roads over and around huge hills ( have no idea where it was but if you are ever riding a motorbike in that area you should do it!)
We hit the freeway through Stockton and that was fun too - 4 lanes and as we were doing 70 mph cars and trucks were flying past us. We decided to stay in Sonoma rather than Napa as it is cheaper??? and apparently not as pretentious - so we are now in wine country......