The Slide Show
After three years of working without a vacation, my girlfriend and I took a trip to Yosemite National Park as well as Cardinal Village in Bishop. This is our first trip to Yosemite, and I would have to say that it was absolutely wonderful. We spent four days in a place called Yosemite Bug Resort, which was a large group of cabins that functions as a hostel as well. What was great about the cabin grounds was that it featured a damn good restaurant in the lodge, which had some great beers on tap as well as top notch cooking.
On the drive up I had the chance to stop in a cigar lounge in Fresno called Cigars Limited, which was a great rest stop for us. With a beautiful lounge styled a bit like a ski lodge, a huge humidor with a bitching selection, and some great folks working there, this is a place I intend to make a permanent stop any time we make this trip. We ended up buying some CAO Lx2 Lanceros, a bunch of Tatuaje sticks, and a couple Tatuaje beanies, but the real treat was discovering that they are the only other store in the nation (from what I understand) that carries the CAO Mx3. Obviously we snatched up a good pile of 'em!
After paying for our stogies, we sat down, fired up, and played a game of cribbage (she won, like usual). Afterward we ate lunch at a nearby cafe, and headed back out for the final stretch to our destination.
The first full day was a blast, as we went to see the Mariposa Sequoia Grove which has a large group of Sequoia trees. These trees, while huge, are actually smaller than the ones I've seen in Kings Canyon, but still did not fail to impress. The Grizzly Giant tree is absolutely massive, with branches up to seven feet in diameter and is over two thousand years old. I felt dwarfed, needless to say! :laugh: The California Tunnel tree was carved out to allow the passage of wagons and early cars, and is the only living tree out of the two cut in such a fashion. The Fallen Monarch is a sequoia that has fallen on its side and is estimated to have fallen over three hundred years ago. The large concentration of tannins in the wood keep the trees from decaying or being destroyed by insects, so it is unknown how long they will remain intact.
Nearby Mariposa City was a total treat, as it has a local brewery that makes some absolutely delicious beers, and the guys who own it are a class act. We got to try out their four current brews, and ended up leaving with glasses and a growler of their kick ass hefeweizen. This was our break at the end of the day after seeing Mariposa Grove, hitting the spot and providing a much needed rest.
The next day we toured Yosemite Valley, hitting up as many of the major sights as possible. We saw Half Dome, El Capitan, all four waterfalls, and the Ahwahnee Hotel (think "The Shining", this is the hotel used for the movie from what I understand). The valley was amazing, it really is humbling to stare at these massive, towering valley walls and think that all of it was carved out by glacial movement. Half Dome is a titanic granite monument literally sheared in half from glacial pressure. El Capitan is the largest granite monolith in the world, though it is hard to believe it is bigger than Half Dome (it is!). The falls were beautiful, and we were really happy to see them as the season we chose to visit this place is usually when the falls dry up until after the snowmelt.
The fourth day we packed up the cabin and started the drive to Bishop, which took us along the highway that runs right through the northern portion of Yosemite. I honestly can say it was one of the most beautiful things for me, and certainly my favorite part of the trip. The majority of the drive was spent at over nine thousand feet, and at times we passed ten thousand. At this high about sea level it is cold enough to maintain a permanent snow, which provided for some amazing sights and photos. At one point there was a large vista from which one could see the back portion of Yosemite Valley, as well as Half Dome.
Once we arrived in Bishop, we met up with Deanna's father and sister at our next cabin which was situated in Cardinal Village. This place holds a special significance for my girlfriend, as she and her family have been frequenting it since she was born. I've been going to the Bishop area the length of my lifetime as well, as my family made it a point to visit several times a year. This was my first time going to Cardinal Village, and I would have to say that if you ever are going to visit the Bishop/Mammoth area, this is somewhere you should seriously consider staying. Built in the early 1900's as a mining camp for the nearby gold mine and stamping plant, most of the buildings used as cabins now are original to the mining camp. We were in the end of the season, but apparently there is some awesome fishing in the area, as there are quite a few lakes a short drive away, as well as a pond in camp that is well stocked, and a couple good trout streams running through the middle. We took a nice hike out to the gold mine, and the walk took us through some beautiful fall colored Aspen (I think).
Once we had come to the end of our vacation, we made a point to stop at a few key places. The first was Schatt's Bakery in Bishop, which is some of the best damn baked goods I have ever had. I've been here many a time and can never remember it being anything short of packed. The jalapeno cheese bread is a huge favorite of mine, and the sourdough is easily the best out there. The next stop was Gus' Fresh Jerky shop, which is a tiny little place that occupies an old former gas station. If you are ever driving out for some skiing in Mammoth, stop here if you want something tasty to munch on while carving the slopes. The jerky is to die for! Our last stop before finishing the long trek home was a strange little shop in the town of Lone Pine. This place holds a really big place in both my girlfriend and I's hearts, as on both our trips to Bishop growing up, we would frequent this shop. The funny thing is, with how often we both stopped there, the chances that both her and I were in the place at the same time at some point is pretty high. The shop itself is nothing special, but as kids it featured something that was pretty damn cool to us: rocks. They have a good sized collection of various gemstones, crystals, stones, fossils, petrified woods, ect that are all for sale. For both of us, it was a big treat as kids to get something from this place to add to our collection. We both still have our rock collections, which was a pretty hilarious thing to have in common. Weird, I know, but its things like that, that just make us realize how special our relationship is, and how odd fate can be.
Well, after all that rambling I hope you all enjoy the pictures. I took along my Nikon D40 which is the camera I use for my review photos, but this time I had the great opportunity to use a Nikon 18-200 lens that just blows my other lenses away. Not having to swap lenses for close up or distance photos was damn nice, and the vibration reduction was a godsend. At a little over $700 on average for this lens, I'd say it's well worth it.
A bunch of dead dinosaurs, 1100 miles, 1200 photos and over 17 hours of driving, I'm beat.
A few of my favorite photos. Both my girlfriend and I took photos the entire trip, so I can't take all the credit for these.
After three years of working without a vacation, my girlfriend and I took a trip to Yosemite National Park as well as Cardinal Village in Bishop. This is our first trip to Yosemite, and I would have to say that it was absolutely wonderful. We spent four days in a place called Yosemite Bug Resort, which was a large group of cabins that functions as a hostel as well. What was great about the cabin grounds was that it featured a damn good restaurant in the lodge, which had some great beers on tap as well as top notch cooking.
On the drive up I had the chance to stop in a cigar lounge in Fresno called Cigars Limited, which was a great rest stop for us. With a beautiful lounge styled a bit like a ski lodge, a huge humidor with a bitching selection, and some great folks working there, this is a place I intend to make a permanent stop any time we make this trip. We ended up buying some CAO Lx2 Lanceros, a bunch of Tatuaje sticks, and a couple Tatuaje beanies, but the real treat was discovering that they are the only other store in the nation (from what I understand) that carries the CAO Mx3. Obviously we snatched up a good pile of 'em!
After paying for our stogies, we sat down, fired up, and played a game of cribbage (she won, like usual). Afterward we ate lunch at a nearby cafe, and headed back out for the final stretch to our destination.The first full day was a blast, as we went to see the Mariposa Sequoia Grove which has a large group of Sequoia trees. These trees, while huge, are actually smaller than the ones I've seen in Kings Canyon, but still did not fail to impress. The Grizzly Giant tree is absolutely massive, with branches up to seven feet in diameter and is over two thousand years old. I felt dwarfed, needless to say! :laugh: The California Tunnel tree was carved out to allow the passage of wagons and early cars, and is the only living tree out of the two cut in such a fashion. The Fallen Monarch is a sequoia that has fallen on its side and is estimated to have fallen over three hundred years ago. The large concentration of tannins in the wood keep the trees from decaying or being destroyed by insects, so it is unknown how long they will remain intact.
Nearby Mariposa City was a total treat, as it has a local brewery that makes some absolutely delicious beers, and the guys who own it are a class act. We got to try out their four current brews, and ended up leaving with glasses and a growler of their kick ass hefeweizen. This was our break at the end of the day after seeing Mariposa Grove, hitting the spot and providing a much needed rest.
The next day we toured Yosemite Valley, hitting up as many of the major sights as possible. We saw Half Dome, El Capitan, all four waterfalls, and the Ahwahnee Hotel (think "The Shining", this is the hotel used for the movie from what I understand). The valley was amazing, it really is humbling to stare at these massive, towering valley walls and think that all of it was carved out by glacial movement. Half Dome is a titanic granite monument literally sheared in half from glacial pressure. El Capitan is the largest granite monolith in the world, though it is hard to believe it is bigger than Half Dome (it is!). The falls were beautiful, and we were really happy to see them as the season we chose to visit this place is usually when the falls dry up until after the snowmelt.
The fourth day we packed up the cabin and started the drive to Bishop, which took us along the highway that runs right through the northern portion of Yosemite. I honestly can say it was one of the most beautiful things for me, and certainly my favorite part of the trip. The majority of the drive was spent at over nine thousand feet, and at times we passed ten thousand. At this high about sea level it is cold enough to maintain a permanent snow, which provided for some amazing sights and photos. At one point there was a large vista from which one could see the back portion of Yosemite Valley, as well as Half Dome.
Once we arrived in Bishop, we met up with Deanna's father and sister at our next cabin which was situated in Cardinal Village. This place holds a special significance for my girlfriend, as she and her family have been frequenting it since she was born. I've been going to the Bishop area the length of my lifetime as well, as my family made it a point to visit several times a year. This was my first time going to Cardinal Village, and I would have to say that if you ever are going to visit the Bishop/Mammoth area, this is somewhere you should seriously consider staying. Built in the early 1900's as a mining camp for the nearby gold mine and stamping plant, most of the buildings used as cabins now are original to the mining camp. We were in the end of the season, but apparently there is some awesome fishing in the area, as there are quite a few lakes a short drive away, as well as a pond in camp that is well stocked, and a couple good trout streams running through the middle. We took a nice hike out to the gold mine, and the walk took us through some beautiful fall colored Aspen (I think).
Once we had come to the end of our vacation, we made a point to stop at a few key places. The first was Schatt's Bakery in Bishop, which is some of the best damn baked goods I have ever had. I've been here many a time and can never remember it being anything short of packed. The jalapeno cheese bread is a huge favorite of mine, and the sourdough is easily the best out there. The next stop was Gus' Fresh Jerky shop, which is a tiny little place that occupies an old former gas station. If you are ever driving out for some skiing in Mammoth, stop here if you want something tasty to munch on while carving the slopes. The jerky is to die for!
Our last stop before finishing the long trek home was a strange little shop in the town of Lone Pine. This place holds a really big place in both my girlfriend and I's hearts, as on both our trips to Bishop growing up, we would frequent this shop. The funny thing is, with how often we both stopped there, the chances that both her and I were in the place at the same time at some point is pretty high. The shop itself is nothing special, but as kids it featured something that was pretty damn cool to us: rocks. They have a good sized collection of various gemstones, crystals, stones, fossils, petrified woods, ect that are all for sale. For both of us, it was a big treat as kids to get something from this place to add to our collection. We both still have our rock collections, which was a pretty hilarious thing to have in common. Weird, I know, but its things like that, that just make us realize how special our relationship is, and how odd fate can be.Well, after all that rambling I hope you all enjoy the pictures. I took along my Nikon D40 which is the camera I use for my review photos, but this time I had the great opportunity to use a Nikon 18-200 lens that just blows my other lenses away. Not having to swap lenses for close up or distance photos was damn nice, and the vibration reduction was a godsend. At a little over $700 on average for this lens, I'd say it's well worth it.
A bunch of dead dinosaurs, 1100 miles, 1200 photos and over 17 hours of driving, I'm beat.
A few of my favorite photos. Both my girlfriend and I took photos the entire trip, so I can't take all the credit for these.
