Going West with Ann and Fern: Yosemite via Tioga Pass

Yosemite has been my favorite National Park since my first visit 49 years ago. The beauty has been with me ever since. I always hesitated returning and perhaps being disappointed. But when we visited the Yosemite Valley last November, while in California for Thanksgiving, I was not disappointed and Fern joined me in my love for this area. We were to late in the season to travel the roads closed for the season due to the large snow fall.

This trip we planned to enter the Tioga Road from the East and cross the Park. Then the large forest fire struck the area and part of this Route was closed. We decided we would drive the part on the Eastern edge that was open and then back track on Route 120. But luck was in our favor and as we approached Mammoth Lakes on our drive from Arizona through the desert and mountains of Nevada, we saw signs that Route 120 had just reopened. We spent the night in Mammoth Lakes, a ski resort that averages 33 feet of snow each year. Our inn, Austria Hof, featured a German restaurant, our favorite.