Wednesday. Sep 15, 2010

Paul called - since van rental was not on airport grounds we cannot take the shuttle but need to catch a cab to pick up the van.  On vacation, you have to flexible and carry extra cash : -). We made it to airport van rental (after I gave my GPS to cab driver), picked up the van after adding liability and collision insurance for $35 and drove back to hotel. Gang was waiting with luggage. We loaded up luggage and headed east over Oakland Bay bridge. After getting over bridge we drove about an hour and stopped at Wal-Mart to get some water, snacks and a fold-up stool to help getting in and out of van. Next stop was Livermore I-HOP for breakfast and drinks to go.  Driving out of Livermore on 580 we saw high hills with wind turbines.  We picked up highway 205 to 120 towards Maneca (San Joaquin Valley)\Sonora.  We picked up Hwy 99 off 120 in Maneca and drove south towards Modesto. After getting on 99 Paul dug into the whoppers box for a snack. After a short stay on the road we stopped at a rest area for a bio break and changed drivers. Lynn drove through Merced then got on 20 ½ near Madera (not sure why they name road in ½ increments). We drove 20 ½ through Pistachio groves and then picked up Raymond Road.   We stopped at the Raymond General Store for a snack and bathroom break.  The store was built in 1914 and had a bar and pool room in back. It was pretty cool. We swapped drivers back to Paul and drove east on Raymond Road to Highway 41. Making a left on 41 we stopped in Coarsegold for gas and then headed toward Fish Camp at the southern entrance to Yosemite.  We arrived at Tenaya Lodge around 4:00 and checked in.  Around 4:30 we went up to Mariposa Grove to see the giant Sequoias. We took a tram tour through the lower and upper groves. The lower grove is more dense with the larger trees while the upper grove is more open with trees not as large because the upper grove has had a controlled burn.  The Mariposa Grove is estimated to be about 1,800 years old with Sequoias living to be about 3,000 years old. We saw such trees as the Fallen Monarch, the Bachelor and Three Graces, Grizzly Giant, California Tunnel Tree, Faithful Couple, Clothespin Tree, Galen Clark Tree, fallen Wawona Tunnel Tree and Telescope Tree.  We left the grove and came back to the lodge and had dinner at the Sierra Restaurant.