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STAGE 9 SAN FRANCISCO to YOSEMITE |
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| 20th January 2001 |
| We were
off... a 9 day trip ahead of us and so much to see. The
English couple on board told us that they weren't sure
what to do when we weren't there to meet the bus. They
suggested the bus wait until 8:15, that would have been
45minutes.. they had no way of contacting us since I had
tried to call the company several times over the previous
2 days to confirm that we'd be travelling, left a message
on their answering machine but never got a return call.
Was I glad they decided to wait! 12 more days left in the U.S. and we were ready to enjoy them... We were off!! It took quite a while before we got to the Yosemite National Park and the scenery changed dramatically! It was awesome! We were in the Sierra Nevadas travelling through alpine wilderness and groves of giant sequoia trees. The views were spectacular and we hardly noticed the cold each time we got off the bus to take photos. Jared was in heaven with all the snow and the deer. The further we travelled the more snow lay on the ground. It was just like the travel brochures... only better!
He was too interested in helping the attendant remove the solid ice from the benches in the park to be bothered to eat. That didn't stop us of course :-) Did you know that the Yosemite landscape began about 500 million years ago when the Sierra Nevada region lay beneath an ancient sea. Thick layers of seabed sediments eventually were folded and twisted and thrust above sea level. At the same time molten rock welled up from deep within the Earth and cooled slowly beneath the sediment layers to form granite. Even as uplifts were still forming the Sierra, water and then glaciers worked at carving Yosemite's face. Weathering and erosion still shape it today. Yosemite Valley may be the world's best known example of a glacier carved canyon. The dramatic scale of its waterfalls, rounded domes, massive monoliths and towering cliffs is truly inspiring. There are lots more magnificent photos of this awe inspiring scenery in my Travel Album. Click on the camera below to have a look or go straight to the Yosemite pages HERE. We arrived in Fresno about 4:30pm and stayed at a fantastic hotel... the Sheraton 4 Points. They had the best bed I'd slept in for our entire holiday and the room was huge. Jared wanted to go for a swim but the pool was outside and not heated... of course I didn't try to explain this to him, he wouldn't have listened. Off he went.... back in 2 minutes :-) Ha! We 'died' after dinner.... Mum had a really bad attack on the way back from the restaurant... and parted with her dinner once she was back in our room :-( I decided there and then she shouldn't have any more wine with her dinner in future. Even one glass might be reacting with her medication which she was taking more often now. I was so tired, but looking forward to the next day EXCEPT we had to be ready to roll at 8am... That would be fine for me but the other two.... |
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