October 27-28, 2023 - Soledad, California

To split the drive up nicely on our way to Palm Desert about the midway point was another TT in the Soledad canyon. So after the hairpin turns of the 120, we headed south back towards the I5 before heading towards our rest stop in Soledad. This is another fabulous Thousand Trails RV Park, very large with 2 pools, 2 lodges and even a Country Store. Could we have made it all the way, well sure but we did insert a few days of just in case situation and this was a good possible stop, especially considering we did not need to pay any extra for it - so a free stay. We had 2 nights here so this gave us a chance to hit the Walmart Superstore and stock up a bit as well as checking the historic 49er Saloon in Acton. This was another great stop on our journey, only a few pics of our stay here, hope you enjoy…

Full moon rising in the Soledad Canyon.



Our set up.

All good food here, minutes from our campground.

October 22-26, 2023 - Yosemite National Park, Day 2

On day 2 of our visit to Yosemite we took in a good 2 hour hike to the Home of the Giant Sequoias along the Tuolumne Grove trail. This trail is very close to the Hwy 120 entrance gate only a few minutes after the turnoff to Tioga Road. After this hike we headed back into the Yosemite Valley for a late lunch and a visit to the Yosemite Village for some retail therapy and a worthwhile visit to the museum. 

Another great day, a few pics, hope you enjoy…

Yes, these trees are Giants indeed.





A great museum inside as well as an outdoor village area…

October 22-26, 2023 - Yosemite National Park

Our drive from Lake Minden to the Yosemite National Park was nice and relaxing until we hit the 120 turnoff from the I5, a little hair raising to say the lest. Tight hairpins with no shoulder had Jan saying, “we’re not coming back this way are we?”, yes, yes we will be, but that will be five days from now. Oh, this is all part of our learning curve, haha, pun intended. I’m just happy that we do this driving in the daylight, a night drive here probably would have added an hour to the journey.

We pulled into the TT Yosemite Lakes RV park at about 4pm and wow, what a great Thousand Trails Park. Along with all the usual park amenities every site was a full hook up site. The park is very conveniently located only 5 miles from Yosemite National Park and sits on a massive 400 acres with the Tuolumne River running through the middle of the campground. We again got very lucky to spot a site right on the river which also happened to a 50 Amp site, yeah. We spent the balance of the day settling in and getting organized and looking forward to our 3 full days to enjoy the National Park.

By the way, this is the right time of year to come to Yosemite as we were warned about huge lines to not only get into the park but the parking is just about impossible. Well this time of year, all three days we rolled right up to the gate and in every area we checked out there was always plenty of parking. Our first day was a complete overview of the Yosemite Valley, including tunnel view, El Capitan and Half Dome. We even drove up to Glacier Point lookout for a picnic lunch at the amphitheater with an incredible view of Half Dome. A great day exploring indeed.

A few pics of our introduction to Yosemite National Park, hope you enjoy….

Cathedral Falls, the spring is the best time to view, but there was a good rain shower yesterday to give us this view.

A rock climber’s paradise. They start them young here.







The bark of a Sequoia Tree is amazing.



El Capitan.





The Yosemite Valley.

El Capitan above, Half Dome down below.





















Zhalbey enjoying the views.











This was another amazing waterfall, Bridalveil. The wind kept shifting it back and forth.













El Capitan in the sunset, yes climbers will spend overnights on this amazing rock face.



Our wonderful spot by the River. A wonderful day indeed.