Morning came early and — thankfully — cool on the last day of the trip. The sun had barely risen as I pushed away from the block of rooms before firing it up (it was downhill and courteous). After being frustrated by the throng of cars, SUVs, and campers  in the park the day before, the plan this morning was to get in and enjoy it before the hordes descended (or woke up), and get out before things got too crazy in the valley. On the whole, my plan succeeded.

I passed through an unattended West Gate (“We will check your ticket on the way out”) and definitely enjoyed the mostly empty Big Oak Flat Road following the edge of the deep canyon carved by the Merced river. As I rolled into the valley loop, I realized how special this trip was. I’ve been to Yosemite a number of times for different purposes — hiking and riding, enjoying the snow of New Years, seeking solace during a tumultuous time — but somehow I’d never visited on a motorcycle. Without the roof of a car obstructing my view, I could marvel at the high, ancient glacier-carved walls of the valley. At one point, I moved to the right lane of the two-lane loop, set the cruise control on 25 mph, lifted the chin bar of my helmet and just gazed around as I made my way deeper in as more impatient tourists coursed around me.

Sooner than expected I spotted my first waterfall — Bridalveil falls. I pulled over and stared up at it through the trees. Given the way the snowmelt had swollen the rivers, I’d hoped the waterfalls would be spectacular. So far, so good!

Further into the valley I could see cars already lining the pull out for the first good view of El Capitan — maybe I wasn’t early enough? I took my requisite picture and hurried in to the turn off for Sentinel Drive and parked. From here I had a fantastic view of the grand Yosemite Falls. I took a picture and suddenly grew sad — I wished Jazz could be there with me — she has not yet been to Yosemite. Looking at my phone, I was surprised to have a really decent signal… so I FaceTimed her! I think I woke her up, but I think she’d agree it was worth it. I “showed” her the falls, then “we” walked over to the stone bridge over the Merced River and I did my best to show her Half Dome in the overpowering morning light.

Go, modern technology! I hit up the visitor’s center (naturally), circled the valley road again, and then started the climb up and out on Wawona road (stopping, of course, to take advantage of the gorgeous panorama at the Tunnel View vista point.

Common sense would dictate I should head back out the way I came into the valley, then through Groveland, Manteca, and on to home. But when Smitty and I originally planned the trip the fastest route for him from the valley floor to home went through the southern, “Wawona” gate, then through Fish Camp, Oakhurst, Merced, and onto the freeways for his home on the central coast. I have a few memories along that route, and I’d never traversed it on a motorcycle, so I decided I’d go that same route (only heading north when I hit the

freeway, naturally). Besides, the roads looked much more squiggly this way.  So after my picture taking session at Tunnel View, I headed up through the tunnel and on towards memories!

The road leading out of the park to the south — Wawona Road — is indeed quite squiggly and a lot of fun… except when it is interrupted by SUVs and campers adhering to the painfully restrictive park speed limit. Some were nice enough to use the pull outs and let me on my merry way. Others… didn’t. Let’s just say I got around them and leave it at that, okay? When I reached the gate I reached for my receipt from the day before to show the ranger I had paid, but he waved me through. *shrug*

A few years back a friend invited me up for a weekend with her family in Fish Camp. They have a cabin with amazing views of the surrounding woods and the weekend was a lovely, relaxing retreat. On the drive up there in my car I lamented that the road would have been more enjoyable on my motorcycle — and here I was! Seemingly around every bend Forest Service trails lead off into the forest, and like passing Bodie, I wanted to head off to explore. I put that on my list for another trip. A little further down the road I passed the turnoff for the summer camp my sister Jill and I went to for a few years, and then on to Oakhurst with the big grizzly bear statue I remember seeing on our drive to camp — it always signaled that the week of camp was about to begin. I pulled over and called Jill just to share the memory and we laughed at our reminisces.

The temperature had risen to 100 degrees, and on the long parched highway 140 the heat climbed to 106. Fortunately, I didn’t have to stop until the fast highway rolled into Merced and from there it was freeways back to the Bay Area. Through Livermore the temperature dropped back into double digits and as the freeway dropped down towards the bay I saw the lovely cooling fog creeping across the water — and the temperature dropped to 60. Bliss!

The trip begun inauspiciously but quickly turned into a wonderful adventure. I being able to share the adventures with Smitty, but we’ll definitely get together another time. A little over 1,100 miles in four days across the width of the state, it was a needed break and a wonderful journey.