Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park, California

Yosemite is a National Park I had been hearing of from friends and in general. I heard of how great it was, how beautiful it was.

Well, I was not disappointed. Yosemite National Park is everything I ever heard it was and more.

Travel

I originally booked a flight to Reno in September with the intentions of going to Yosemite. Unfortunately, I didn’t know about their ticket to gain entry system until after I had booked the flight.

Luckily the beer bug has given us a world with free ticket changes, so this ended up not being a problem at all. I waited until the first of September and got a reservation in October. Tickets seemed to go reasonably fast, but I got mine for entry on Sunday October 18. I had wanted for Saturday, but that was fine. The flight Oklahoma City (OKC) to Reno (RNO) was $178 round-trip on American Airlines in Main Cabin.

Reno and Tahoe

I arrived into Reno late, and didn’t get up particularly early. I visited Donner Pass and drove around Lake Tahoe. Tahoe is absolutely gorgeous and the commercial aspect of it has been kept at a minimum – I’m pretty impressed.

As I headed south, I admired the beauty of the mountains. This was truly my first look at them in person. It is truly a beautiful range, much more than they are given credit for.

  • Donner Pass in California
  • California Mountain Sunset
  • Fall colors near Mono City, California
  • California Scenic Route 89 at the mono county line
  • Sun sets behind the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Bridgeport, California
  • Fall colors were strong in this area of Yosemite National Park
  • South Lake Tahoe
  • Sierra Nevada Mountains

Mammoth Lakes

I decided to base myself on the east side of the park in Mammoth Lakes. I stayed at the Holiday Haus for 3 nights and my total was around $250. The room was really nice too! The smoke was thick in Mammoth, however. Devil’s Postpile National Monument was closed due to fire, which was disappointing as I wanted to get the NPS stamp.

Yosemite National Park

I had 3 full days in Yosemite starting Sunday the 18th. Each day I entered through the Inyo National Forest and went over Tioga pass at 10,000 feet. What a beautiful drive into the park. Once you are actually inside Yosemite, the views just ontinue to get better. I spent 3 days driving the entire park and valley. These are the photos as a result.