Day 18 - Thursday 8/15/13 Napa, CA - Yosemite, CA (195 miles)

Nut (walnut?) Groves

After a quick inn breakfast and stop at the local shipping office to send some vino east, we picked up some groceries for the camp site and headed back to the eastern part of the state and Yosemite National Park.  The countryside was pretty flat for most of the way and we were surprised by how many olive & nut groves there were.

Nearing the park, we passed through Copperopolis (just saying it is fun - come on, say it out loud...) and encountered road signs saying we should turn off the A/C for the next 8 miles.  We were reluctant given that the temp was 104 degrees, but did as we were instructed...wisely.  The ascent up Rt. 120 along what's called the Golden Chain Highway was a driver's dream with dozens of switchbacks and narrow lanes, and well worth the trip once we entered Stanislaus National Forest, which borders Yosemite.  You know the Smokey The Bear signs that tell you what level of fire danger exists?  Well, on this day, the sign read "EXTREME FIRE DANGER", likely because of the weeks of these high temps, and, oh the fact that there were several big fires burning nearby already.

The Goden Chain Highway (Rt. 120)

The 7,000 ft elevation increase we experienced from between Copperopolis (come on, say it out loud!) and our campsite was dramatic; even the temp dropped 30 degrees.  We set-up camp at Crane Flat Campground in the park after camp security had to remove a tent that had been set up on our tent pad.  Turns out, they didn't think their site was big enough, so they took over ours!

Golden Chain Highway from one of the pullouts

Camp with the bear box.

Cooked our beanie wienies and fresh sweet corn dinner over the fire and enjoyed that with our last bottle of wine from home before settling in for the night.  Short night's sleep when the big creature came through in the middle of the night.  May have been bear since EVERY camp site has a 4'x4'x2' metal bear proof box where we're told EVER food item must be placed.  They mean it too.  You can't have anything in your car/tent/site, including sunscreen (coconut), toothpaste (mint), food & trash (of course), as well as a myriad of other items.  Given the late night wildlife visit sleep came easily.