Sand Dune in Nevada

6/19/06 - Nevada
The next day we headed West to Nevada. We made it as far as Ely, NV (Map)where we spent the night in the Hotel Nevada Casino's parking lot. We had dinner at the casino and spent some time exploring the town the next day, including a good sandwich and milk shake at an old fashioned ice cream parlor near the casino.

On Tuesday we continued on to Carson City, NV (Map) and spent a few nights at the Silver City RV Park there. Along the way we saw lots of mountains, salty lake beds and the beautiful sand dune shown above.

Lake Tahoe

Thursday we drove over the hill to Lake Tahoe and had a great time driving around the lake, viewing the breathtaking scenery. Here's a shot of my favorite part of the lake, Emerald Bay , with nearby Upper and Lower Eagle Falls .

6/23/06 - Mono Lake area
On Friday we moved to the Mono Lake area, which is on the Eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains and Yosemite National Park. On the way we encountered some road construction which delayed us about half an hour but afforded me the opportunity to take some beautiful pictures of the Eastern Sierras.

Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains

We checked into the Mono Vista RV Park in Lee Vining, CA(Map) and then got back in the car and drove back to an interesting gift shop that we had passed. Then we drove to Bodi which is a very well preserved old mining town and a state park.

It was a fun drive down a mostly paved road back into the hills. We found Body to be very interesting and picturesque. The drive back was even more enjoyable because we took a dirt country road past this huge flock of sheep and drove along Lake Mono on the way back to Lee Vining.

Mono Lake's West Tufas

The next day we explored the Mono Lake area starting at the Visitors Center. We drove around the June Lake Loop where we saw some beautiful lakes among the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains . Then we found another dirt road to explore and wound up at a Pumice mining operation. Next we checked out the Mono Craters and the very interesting West Tufas. I highly recommend a visit to this extraordinary place.

6/25/06 - Yosemite National Park
Sunday we drove over Tioga Pass and saw more beautiful lakes and mountains . We stopped for lunch at Tuolumne Meadows , and enjoyed the windy road across the Sierras through Yosemite National Park. We had reservations at Yosemite Lakes, which is a nice private campground about five miles West of Yosemite on Hwy 120, and we got there in the late afternoon.

Yosemite Falls

Monday we drove into Yosemite and saw any beautiful falls, rivers and mountains, including El Capitan, and the Merced River. I took Tara on short hikes up to both Bridalveil Falls and Yosemite Falls.

The next day we returned to Yosemite Valley and then drove up to Glacier Point where we found many spectacular views of the Yosemite Valley , Half Dome, Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls.

Then we drove to the Mariposa Grove where there is a big stand of Sequoia Redwood Trees that are very tall and beautiful. Along the way we saw many wild flowers, ground squirrels and birds. Unfortunately, we did not see any large wildlife. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Yosemite National Park.