6/16/2026 Yosemite

6/16/2026

 Up early so that we could spend the day driving around Yosemite. (Curry Village; Yosemite Valley Visitor Center, Exploration Center/Theater; Glacier Point Road; dinner outside the park at Lucky Buck Cafe-138 miles total). The movie at the Exploration Center was top notch- -better than any other National Park movie.

Driving through the park

One of many rushing streams

Waterfall beauty

View from Glacier Point

This old guy climbed to the top of the rock for a pic and people cheered.
Here he is on his way down.

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6/15/2026

6/15/2026

We were up early to beat the heat, but it has persisted throughout the day. I am posting more pics than usual because it was hard to choose. We arrived at Hodgdon Meadow Campground in Yosemite. Heatwave here until tomorrow afternoon. We were warned upon entering the campground about a nuisance bear that is raiding campsites for food. And yesterday, a dog was sprayed by a skunk. Both are on our radar.

I had a chance late today to play my dulcimer at this beautiful campsite.

Change from desert to mountains

Where we are headed

Mono Lake: The Navy blew up things in the water in the 50s/ 60s

Seismic test site for the Navy in the 50's and 60's

Rock protrusions in Mono Lake

Waterfall just before the park

Here for 2 nights

Smooth rock everywhere

Flowers growing in crevices

Campsite for 2 nights

6/14/2026

6/14/2026

We got an early start in order to make it to Ely, NV about 80 miles away for church, laundry, a few groceries and lunch. The laundromat was the nicest so far and reasonably priced. After all our chores, we headed southwest on Route 6.

Population density in NV is 30 people per square mile. Pinellas County, FL where we live is 30,000 people per square mile. I prefer FL.

We stopped at a Love's fuel stop where they had a tiny dog park and it was 97 degrees and no shade. Sammy didn't love it.

5 miles down the road, we stopped at a rest stop designed for overnights (no trucks allowed). We are here til morning.

As we left Baker Campground

They heard us!

Back to the highway from the campground

Very few barns on this route.  Loved this one!

Sacred Heart Church.  The priest was from Nigeria and covers 3 churches spread widely apart.

Long desert stretches between mountains

Beautiful Boulders

Our rest stop campsite for the night.

6/13/2026

 6/13/2026 Great Basin National Park, NV

Yesterday, after a long day of driving, we made it to the top of the mountain (Wheeler Peak Campground- $10 with senior parks pass). The campground roads were paved and each campsite had a concrete area for the picnic table. Beautiful.

Something scary happened when Ron and Duke were at the picnic table. An arrow came whizzing by and landed near them. A lady came by and apologized for the errant arrow. Guess they weren't good marksmen. Luckily, neither of them was struck.

Midday today we came down to tonight's campground at Baker Creek. Gravel roads and barely a pull-off for tonight. Quite a contrast for the same National Park.

Paved picnic area

view from Wheeler Peak

View of the desert we crossed as we came down the mountain

Our road after we make the hairpin curve

6/12/2026

 6/12/2026 East Fork Bear Campground to Great Basin National Park

We left our East Fork Bear Campground along the rushing stream and headed for Park City, Utah. Ron found a road out of Park City with very steep climbs and we ended up on Pine Canyon Road with more steep grades down and switchbacks. We met a few brave cyclists climbing up. From there we headed into Provo, home of Brigham Young University. The median age in this city is 24.

The next section of our travels today was "the loneliest road in America" and I believe it. Great Basin is a desert with no services for 100 miles. The basin got its name because no water flows out of it. Instead, it feeds into underground aquifers. Tonight we climbed 12+ miles to Great Basin National Park-Wheeler Campground, Nevada at 10,000 feet. This one of the least visited National Parks with only 150,000 people annually compared to Zion that has 5,000,000 per year.

Park City-many condos

House overlooking Pine Canyon Road

Deer Creek Reservoir

 "loneliest road in America"

Looking at the desert  behind us on the way to the campground

6/11/2026

 6/11/2026 Tetons to the National Forest, Evanston, WY

Before leaving the park this morning, we drove up Signal Mountain (4 miles). Throughout the day we traveled through Wyoming, Idaho and Utah. We are camped in a National Forest south of Evanston, WY. The campers next to us are in a tent with their 11 week old baby!

Tetons

Tetons

Lupines

Driving through Tetons

Jackson Hole

Tonight's campsite

bubbling stream right next to campsite