So one minute we are on the coast, enjoying the sunshine but needing to grab the jackets to protect from the cold North Westerly wind, the next we are an hour inland and the heat is fierce. Wow! The difference is crazy! After Eureka we drove the Avenue of the Giants and stopped to walk the trail around Founder’s Grove.
Then we carried on to Glass Beach in Fort Bragg which is what it says in the tin. It was created from years of dumping glass into the sea further North. So simple and yet beautiful in a recycling kind of way. There were lots of people engrossed in finding a lovely rounded jewel of glass wearing all the marks of the ocean on it.
Who knew that squirrels don’t just live among trees but also at beaches
We stayed the night in Mendocino, a chilled town with a laid back vibe and lots of cool boutiques, cafes and a really funky supermarket. There are lovely watertowers everywhere, many that are still used today. The next day we pootled down the coast road passing lots of amazing views. Unfortunately no whales in these views. But we did stop for lunch at Salt Point State Park and had a walk down to the beach where I nearly stepped on a snake – eek! Someone had been busy building a shelter and a cool maze there.
Our headland walk companions were much more friendly being a lonely seal and a load of swooping swifts.
We stopped to watch the sunset at Muir Outlook which is stunning, set in the hills which feels very remote, but is actually only 30 mins from the crazy hubbub of San Francisco.
It was with great excitement that the next morning we circled San Francisco and in the distance, through the mist, we saw the high rises in the city and The Golden Gate bridge.
We will return and explore the area but for now we are heading East towards Yosemite National Park.Suddenly it got hot! Like 33 degrees hot. Time to test the air conditioning on Fred (Louis III). Thankfully it works! In Manteca we decided to invest in some bicycles and a bike rack on Fred. We love the freedom that having bikes gives you, especially exploring cities, and Wal-Mart sell them so cheap ($150) it was going to be cheaper than a couple of days’ rental.
Our bikes (Wilma and yet to be named) make you appreciate what you have on a good mountain bike (like suspension with lock out, good brakes, non-crunchy sounding gears, something you can lift off the ground without giving yourself a hernia) but they will give us wind in our hair and help us explore more. Can’t wait!Luckily the next day was our chance to try them out. We drove into Yosemite National Park and cycled the valley floor part of the park. We locked our bikes at the trailhead and walked to Mirror Lake.
I nearly stepped on another snake but prefered seeing more squirrels and a cool woodpecker, busy pecking away.
We whizzed past the other great sites as we planned to return to the park the next day too. We would have stayed in one of the park campground but think it must be school holidays from the number of kids groups here and filling all the campgrounds. Oh well, a free night wild camping in a national forest with a stream running alongside us it is then – hard life!Day two in Yosemite was fabulous. We got a light misting, a bit wet, and downright soaked visiting the different waterfalls. Thank goodness for that fast drying sunshine. We first explored Bridal Veil falls. A few wet feet and a slight spray was all it took.Then decided to walk the “Mist trail” – there’s a clue. Up to the first falls, called Vernal Falls, we got absolutely soaked but it was so worth it.
Next we carried on up to Nevada Falls and having just dried out decided to only get close to the lower falls fleetingly.
The return trip allowed for some great views.
Then a short cycle to Yosemite Falls where a quick crossing at the bottom resulted in a soaking but it was well worth it.
And to finish off an amazing visit we saw some deers on our cycle back to the van and then a lovely sunset.
Sorry for the long post. We have had no internet signal for a few days so cramming it all into one post.
