Sep 3, 2012 Last updated: 9/8/12 4:00pm PT
Day 3 continues from Bodie to Mono Lake. The pictures I saw on various websites made the place look way more interesting than it does in real life. But it was a nice enough place to stop for a picnic lunch. These stone structures were formed underwater, when the water level was higher.
From Mono Lake, we entered Yosemite National Park from the east. It took about 3 hours to drive from the east entrance to the west side of the park, where you enter Yosemite Valley. When driving through the valley, we saw a guy sitting by the river playing a full sized harp. There was no place to pull out afterwards, and I didn’t see it soon enough, so there is no picture.
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Yosemite
A co-worker of mine recommended hiking to the top of Sentinel Dome (8122 ft). This was an excellent hike, with 360 degree views above Yosemite Valley; a little above El Capitan (7569 ft) and a little below Half Dome (8836 ft). The trailhead starts at around 7600 ft. and the last portion of the trail is pretty steep.
In front of Sentinel Dome, before the last big push to the top.
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Proof we were at the top.
Half Dome
El Capitan
A brave soul near the edge
More pictures from the top of Sentinel Dome
We saw a bear in a tree, but did not get a good picture. The bear was way up there and hard to see. From Yosemite, we drove south for a little over an hour to Fresno, CA. Dinner was at Wahoo’s Fish Tacos. We had eaten at one of these restaurants in LA a few years ago. Tasty fish tacos.