Novemebr 25 to 30, 2015; Thanksgiving and visits with friends

NOV 25, WEDNESDAY; A day of rest

Windy once again and the temperature is getting cooler; the forecast is for cooler temperature for the rest of the week!  Val checked my wound this morning and all seems well except for my hair being matted in dry blood.  A shower soon fixed most of that.  This was a reading day.  We went for a long walk but it was too windy and dusty to do anything else.  A day of rest!

NOV 26, THURSDAY; HAPPY THANKSGIVING (USA) WITH FRIENDS

The wind is gone and it is cloudy with sunny periods and cooler still than yesterday.  Today, I replaced the screen on the large living room window and did a couple of little repairs in the house.  Val spent most of the afternoon cooking a dish for the dinner tonight.  At 3:30 pm, we left for Dennis and Ruth’s place in Yuma, near the airport.  Ed & Judy and Reg & Sharon were already there when we arrived.  We sat around to chat then more friends of Ruth and Dennis showed up.  We proceeded to do justice to the turkey that Judy cooked and the ham that Ruth cooked and all the fixings.  Everyone had shared in preparing the meal and it was delicious!  We had lots of laughs and good music then R&D’s neighbours came over.  We had a great time and came home by 11 pm.  We really appreciate and Love our friends from home!

NOV 27, FRIDAY; Visit with Charlene and Lynden

Cloudy and cooler but no winds as of 9 am!  We drove to the Foothills in Yuma to shop for some needed items and to pick up wine for the Kirkby’s.  We then drove to the YUMA PROVING GROUNDS and to IMPERIAL DAM where they are spending the winter in the BML lands.  Once again, I forgot to take pictures but they are very well set up with a small wall made of scrap plywood and Lynden made a cooking corner and a fire pit area.  They have a very nice view of the lake created by the Dam and the surrounding mountains.  Charlene cooked a huge and delicious pasta meal with chunks of chicken and sauce and Lynden cooked bacon bits and green beans on the BBQ.  We finished it all!!!  Afterwards, their neighbours, Mike and Donna whom we met before, came over and we had a fire.  It was great and we had a fantastic visit.  We came home via a different and shorter route and were in bed by 10 pm.  A great day indeed!

NOV 28, SATURDAY; Laundry day!

Sunny but cold this morning; 39*F (5*C) and windy once again.  Not much happened today.  Val did laundry, I watched some college football, dealt with Verizon trying to set up an account and talking to those people on the call line is like talking to a five-year-old!  Anyway, I had to drive to town to finally settle the whole thing and picked up milk and chips at the grocery store.  Came home and Val cooked left over ham and squash then we watched a couple movies on the Tube.

NOV 29, SUNDAY; visits friends

Sunny and very LITTLE WIND!!!  Val went for a morning walk and Tai-Chi while I got myself showered and ready to go out.  We went to Home Depot to get a green outdoor carpet (for Mexico) then we went to Jack and Mim’s place in the Foothills, on the East side of Yuma.  We had a great visit with them then at 5pm, we went to LYN’s Chinese buffet and I proceeded to get my fix on Chinese food.  We came and watched “Madam Secretary” and the “Good Wife”.  To bed early!

NOV 30, MONDAY; Another month gone by!

Sunny and no winds this morning; 46*F (8*C) at 9 am.  I washed the windows in both the Beaver and the Jeep then I hooked up the REVERSE OSMOSIS (RO) filters to our water system and filled half the water tank (50 gallons) then switched it to regular filtering.  Val spent most of the day at the clubhouse doing puzzle and I had a snooze.  In the evening, we watched a couple of recorded shows then to bed

November 21 to 24, 2015: Algodones, MEX. and RV open Market

NOV 21, SATURDAY: Algodones, MEX

Hot, hot, hot today and VERY WINDY!  Welcome to Winterhaven/Yuma!  I don’t want to sound pessimistic but this Park is really on its last leg.  It is over half empty, there is very little activities going on, half the buildings are closed and so is the hot tub and the pool.  It’s a good thing our time here is free; I think this is going to be our last time here!

We went to Algodones, Mexico and I got some dental work done.  I have to go back Monday and Val also has an appointment then too.  We also got our MEXICAN VISA while there at $25 US each.  Afterwards, we drove to Yuma and I refilled my phone time with AT&T then we went to Best Buy to price some TV’s.  We checked the theatre for what’s on then stopped at BUFFALO Wings for beer and wings.  At 4pm, we walked back to the theatre and watched SPECTRE (James Bond).  Came home, still windy and warm.

NOV 22, SUNDAY; RV OPEN MARKET

Slept in today; up at 9 am!  We went to the Outdoor RV Market and bought a few items we required for the MH.  I ended up buying a new water pump as the one for our Reverse Osmosis is kaput!  That was an expense not planned on.  We tried to contact Jack and Ed but no one was available so we drove to Yuma downtown and stopped at our favorite Pub and watched football with beer and wings.  We came home around 4 pm and sat outside to enjoy the warm air; the winds have finally abated!

NOV 23, MONDAY; Back to Algodones, MEX.

We have high clouds this morning and no wind.  I got a message from Judy that we are invited to Ruth and Dennis for Thanks-Giving (USA) and of course we accepted.  We left at 10:15 for our 11 am appointments.  We were at the dentist for 4 long hours so we had lunch down there.  Once back home, Val made a meat loaf for dinner then we watched some TV.

NOV 24, TUESDAY: Algodones one last time

Today, we had to go back to Algodones for Val’s follow up and I got some adjustment done while there.  Of course, it took a while so we had breakfast in town then returned.  Finally, it was all done and we headed back to the USA.  We went to the Jeep Dealership about the A/C; they wanted me to leave the vehicle there the whole day after making an appointment just to diagnose the problem so needless to say I told them to take a hike!  We went to MESA RV about the covers for the lights which they didn’t have and I got a recommendation for a garage near here about the A/C so we proceeded to that place.  15 minutes later my A/C was fixed and it cost me $40.  A hole in the wall with hardly any signs indicating the place, they were busy but fitted me right in.  That’s what I call service!  We came home, had HH, dinner then the tube for entertainment.  As I was replacing the water in my CPAP machine and walking off the elevated floor, I banged my head on the lever on the air outlet in the ceiling and gave myself a gash of about a quarter inch which bleed of course.  Val got right into her nurse mode and fixed me up in no time.  It was a bit uncomfortable but the bleeding was stopped.

November 18 to 20, 2015; Borrego Springs and onward to Winterhaven, CA

NOV 18, Wednesday Borrego Springs

I had a horrible dream early this morning; I was running down a street and a Bob Cat appeared out of nowhere and started chasing me and eventually jumped on my back.  Needless to say I was trying to wave it and kick it off but it turned that Val was the recipient of those violent moves.  She woke me up and everything went back to normal!  WHAT A DREAM!!!! 

Anyway, we left at 9:15 am for our Borrego tour.  We went down 111 to Monterey/Hwy74 and headed up the mountain.  First we stopped at the “Welcome Sign” and got a cache then went up the mountain.  Man was that ever tortuous but absolutely breath-taking.  We eventually reached the top at 5000 feet and the scenery changed from rocky grounds to low pines and shrubs and cactus.  We reached Anza Village where we got another cache and turned on Hwy 371.  Here it became flat and high desert country but with lots of horse ranches.  We eventually came down onto Hwy 79 and turned left after picking up another cache.  This became rolling hills and at one point, we took the wrong turn and climbed to 4000 ft. where we got some beautiful vista.  We got to an Indian gate and were told that we were on the wrong road and had to go back!  DARN!!!  Back on 79, we finally found our turn to Borrego itself, Hwy 74.  We slowly climbed and eventually the Valley opened up to us and we got our first glimpse of Borrego Valley and the second look at Salton Sea.  The descend was just as exciting as the climb out of Palm Desert.  Into Borrego Spring we drove; what a neat town, we will have to come back some time soon.  We followed the highway to 86 where we gassed up and continued home.   We arrived back around 5 pm to find we had two new neighbours, one from BC. 

CHECK OUT THE PICTURES ON OUR PICASA LINK ON OUR BLOG!

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zp8Avi7gfbhg.kltseZbNIcvg&usp=sharing  (cut and paste on web browser if it won’t open)

NOV 19, THUSRSDAY; Last day in Indio

Val went for her swimming classes and I drove to the RV Store to see if my light covers were in.  No luck!   Came home and took everything out of the jeep and proceeded to wash and clean it inside and out.  Then I loaded everything back in, loaded the biked and the kayaks, tied everything down then I out everything that was out back in the basement of the Beaver and finally…had to beer or two to admire my work!  We had a quiet HH then dinner then watched the last episode of “the BLACK LIST”.  A busy day but we are ready to go!

NOV 20, FRIDAY; Onward to Yuma, AZ

Sunny and hot it was today! 84*F (27*C) We left at 9:15 am and arrived in Winterhaven @ 12:45pm (1:45 pm local time).  We took 86 south to 78 then east and again south on 111 to I-8.  A westerly direction on I-8 took us to PILOT KNOB Resort (I call it the dust Bowl) in Winterhaven!  We registered and paid $42 for the electricity for 2 weeks and no other cost as we are here under R.O.D., one of our membership.  We set up in SITE 121 and Val called the dentist in Algodones and we have an appointment for tomorrow at 10 am.  There were hamburgers for dinner at the club house so we went for that.  Val stayed behind to do some puzzles and I came home to work on the blog.

We travelled 138 miles in 2 hrs and 40 minutes @ an average 52MPH and stopped for 15 minutes to get coffee.

N   32* 44.694’

W 114* 45.843’

Alt: 251 feet

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zp8Avi7gfbhg.kSNwYGsgQlpM&usp=sharing

November 10 to 17, 2015; Route 66, chores, Special Visits and College of the Desert

NOV 10, TUESDAY; laundry day

Sunny but very windy, strong at times.  Logged all my caches from yesterday and messaged Louise and Dave who should be in Desert Hot Spring by now!?  It was cooler today so we spent a lot of time inside.  Babe and Ron came over for HH and dinner.  We had a great visit with them and got to play with Zoey their little pooch.  Val made pork chops in a mushroom sauce with potatoes and vegetables.  It was delicious and I think everyone enjoyed it.  We are invited to their place on Thursday.

NOV 11, Wednesday; Bucket list

Today, we decided to drive ROUTE 66 to its end.  Been wanting to do that for a long time!  We drove to I-215 north and got off at HUNTINGTON AVE.  We’ve already done the section from Cajun Pass to here a few years back.  It was a long drove, what with the stop lights and detours but we finally got to Hollywood and Pasadena and drove partly on Sunset Blvd and Santa Monica to the end.  We stopped for lunch in Monrovia at ALONDRA Restaurant in Pasadena, where the theme was the 30’s gangsters.  The food and drink was great.  Things are definitely changed from the 30’s and 50’s.  It is all modern now and what is in the book, no longer exist or has been altered to the point it is hardly recognizable but we did enjoy the drive.  We left at 9:30 am and finally arrived at the Pier at 3:30 pm.  Of course, I chased a couple of caches while here J.  We walked the Pier to the end, looked around, took some pictures and even stood over Hwy 1 and its end/start point.  We would have loved to see more but the sun set and it became dark quickly so we headed back home via I-10 and 60.  We arrived home at 8:45 pm.  A long day indeed but fun.  

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zp8Avi7gfbhg.krDqXoBkhmBc&usp=sharing

The link above is a bit screwy as I didn’t seem to be able to change the route.  From 101 in L.A. we turned NW on SUNSET to SANTA MONICA BLVD.  We then followed Santa Monica part way then over to SUNSET BLVD then back to Santa Monica BLVD.

Anyway, another item off my BUCKET LIST!!!

NOV 12, Thursday; Quiet time at home and visit with Babe and Ron

High clouds and windy this morning.  Val went for her pool exercises then later, for a walk.  I spent about an hour on making reservations until the end of December for our final stay in the USA before heading for Mexico.  I also been trying to set up an account on line with Verizon but having a hard time.  Got to go to a Verizon store here in town.  We went to Babe and Ron @ OUTDOOR RV RESORT on Ramon street for HH at 4 pm and ended up staying for dinner.  We had a delicious Pork Roast cooked to perfection.  They took us for a tour of the Park in their golf-cart then we sat outside for a while under the Heater before having dinner.  Like all good things, time came to leave so we said our goodbyes as they are going back to BC for X-mas holidays until mid-January.  We came home and watched “BLACK LIST”.

NOV 13, FRIDAY; Lucky day!?

Sunny and very warm…83*F!  Val went to her pool exercises and I went to Verizon store about my account.  Went to VERIZON office but still had no success but at least I change the address to the right one and I will get my bills via e-mail.  I gassed up the jeep @ $2.85/gal. then I went to a local RV store and bought a couple item the Beaver needed.  Back home, I read for a while, Val went to the clubhouse for her jig-saw puzzle.  Quiet evening at home.

OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH ALL THE FAMILIES THAT LOST SOMEONE AT THE SHOOTING…. HOW HORRIBLE, and so sad!!!!

NOV 14, SATURDAY; College of the Desert

Sunny and warm!  I guess I should stop bragging, Huh!?  We had hamburgers at the Club House for $3 which included 2 sort of salads then we drove to MONTEREY ST to the COLLEGE OF THE DESERT OPEN MARKET.  Unfortunately, we forgot that they are open only from 7 am to 2 pm so we didn’t have much to look at as the merchants were packing up but I did manage to buy a new hat.  We went grocery shopping at a new market SMART AND FINAL, a bulk store but we still had to go to WALMART to get some items.  We came home and sat out for a drink and new acquaintances that Val met at the Club House, joined us for a drink and a chat.  Paula and Doug are from La Quinta, here in the Valley, but are full timers and their house is rented to friends.  Dinner and a quiet evening at home!

NOV 15, SUNDAY; Visit friends in DHS

Sunny but a bit windy and there are threatening clouds in the West. Quiet morning then we drove to Catalina RV Resort in Desert Hot Spring to visit Dave and Louise.  We spent the day with them catching up to news and had dinner; a pull pork roast with salad, chips and beer.  YUM! YUM!  We had a great visit with them, it had been a while since we saw them.  We got home at 9 am in time to watch “THE GOOD WIFE”.

NOV 16, MONDAY; Chores

It got really windy yesterday and overnight and the temperature plummeted to the mid 60*.  There were lots of black clouds and rain/snow in the mountains.   We were to go BORREGO-SPRINGS Geo-Caching and sightseeing today but we postponed that to tomorrow as the wind is still blowing and it is cool this morning but the sun is shining making more tolerable.  Val got energetic and defrosted the freezer and cleaned it.  Not to be outdone, I washed all the windows inside then went out and washed the rear and driver side of the Beaver then washed the windows and polished the wheel rims on that side.  By the time I quit, it was HH then dinner and a quiet evening at home.  IT got really windy late in the evening and I had to bring in the awning.

NOV 17, TUESDAY; Chores and visits

Sunny and still windy but not as strong.  We had two coaches come in yesterday, one on each side.  One left at 7 this morning and woke us up.  The other at 8:30, a much more civilized hour!  Val went for belly dancing exercises.  I finished off washing the Coach, curb side and the front.  I noticed that there sure are a lot of scratches on the side.  Anyway, Dave and Louise showed up around 3 pm so we had another very nice visit with them then we had dinner that Val prepared earlier on.  They didn’t bring Keenan, their dog, so they had to leave early.  I was in bed by 9 pm

November 6 to 9, 2015; Life in Indio and GeoCaching

NOV 6, FRIDAY; INDIO

I was up at 6:30 am; couldn’t sleep anymore!  It is sunny and promises to be a warm day!  I went to the office and settled our stay, got the rules and activity sheet for Val then I unloaded the bikes and kayaks and the show box.  Slowly settling in.  We went to Costco and bought a few things but when I got to the cashier I found out that they DO NOT use Master Card down here but AMEX so I had to use my Debit Card.  I was not a happy camper!  We won’t be going back to COSTCO while in the USA.  We then went to a VERIZON store to add more data on the MIFI then to WALMART for more groceries.  We also stopped at a restaurant recommended to us by Sid and Vera, called SOUPLANTATION where we had excellent soup and salad and all you can eat for $9.  We came home, put everything away then had a glass of wine outside.  Another warm day which reminds me that the A/C in the jeep quit and the red engine light came on so when I got home I disconnected the battery, cleaned it while at it and after re-connecting everything, the A/C worked and the red light was out!???  Go figure!!!  Dark out there by 5 pm.

NOV 7, Saturday; Indio

Sunny and very warm.  Val went for a routine walk and then for a swim in the afternoon.  I decided to get energetic and washed and polished the front wheels of the Beaver then the Jeep and also washed and polished the tires.  ( I must be bored!! J).  After that, I had enough energy to wash the Jeep’s windows inside and out.  Time for HH then BBQ steaks for dinner.

NOV 8, Sunday; Indio

We have new neighbours right next to us and at 6 this morning, I could hear the woman yakking away and their dog barking.  Thank goodness they left later in the morning!  Slowly getting into the routine:  a snooze for an hour or two, walks around the park, Val doing her jigsaw puzzles and going for a swim.  I put more toys out: Flags on the front, our “BAR IS OPEN” light and worked on the basement clean up.  Cooked fish on the BBQ then watched our two favorite shows on TV (Madam Secretary & Good Wife)

NOV 9, MONDAY; Geocaching.

Slept in sort of this morning.  My left eye is bothering a lot.  It is always wet and sore when I read.  I figure it is all the driving and the sun but time will tell, in the meantime I’m pouring eye drops in.  It did improve some as the day went on.   We decided to go geocaching today and as luck would have it, Babe and Ron showed up while we were gone! We did have a great day though.  We went to the BOX CANYON which is on the way to PAINTED CANYON.  The difference with this Canyon, we drove through finding caches along the way and came out on I-10 at the General PATTON Museum and rest area, about 29 miles from Indio.  Another item off the list!  We arrived home in the dark after stopping for a couple items for dinner.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zp8Avi7gfbhg.kQDrDYKaxhu4&usp=sharing

November 5, 2015; Sequoia Park to Indio, CA.

NOV 5, Thursday; Onward to Palm Spring area.

Sunny and cool this morning (7*C) and no bears in the tree!  We were on our way by 8:20 am, west on Hwy 198 then south on 99.  Along 99, the scenery consisted of fields of agriculture, fruits and vineyards.  It is mind-boggling how much there is!  We stopped north of Bakersfield for fuel at a FLYING J @ $2.68/gal.  I use this truck stop because I get 4-5 cents off the regular price with a GOOD SAM card.  We carried on to Bakersfield, and took Hwy 58 over the 4700 feet TEHACHAPI PASS, then remain at elevation of 2500 – 3000 feet until we descended to the COACHELLA VALLEY.  At MOJAVE, we had lunch then turned south on Hwy 14 (4 lanes) then East and South on Hwy 138.  A lot of construction on this part, widening it to 4 lanes by the looks of it (I would not take this route again as there is too many lights and stops).  At CAJUN JUNCTION, we got on I-15, then 215 and finally I-10 to Indio; traffic was very heavy.  The sun was shining and there is no pollution so we have a great view of the mountains and hills.  We arrived at INDIAN WELLS RV PARK at 5:30 pm, a very long day, but this is it for two weeks.  We settled in SITE 124.  It feels good to be here and to have nowhere to go for a few days!  We sat outside with a glass of wine in shorts and t-shirts! 

N  33* 42.228’

W 116* 16.045’

ALT: 6 Feet

We travelled 344 miles @ an average 52 MPH in 6.5 hrs and were stopped for 1.5 hr

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zp8Avi7gfbhg.kgVKBqrBC0QE&usp=sharing

November 4, 2015; Visiting Sequoia National Park

NOV 4, WEDNESDAY: SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK

Rain again overnight, heavy at times as it woke me up a couple times.  It is sunny now @ 8 am.  No bears in the tree, I checked!  We headed up to the Park by 10 am; the road had lots of curves but nothing serious.  We arrived at the Park entrance, 5 miles away and paid our entrance fee but had to return a couple miles back as we needed chains even though we were driving a four-wheel drive.  So we did as we had no choice and returned to the Park 20 minutes later and $60 poorer for the rental.  We began climbing slowly while following a small creek then we turned into the mountains and we began a steep, tortuous and long climb to over 6000 feet from 1500 feet.  The views along the way were absolutely a marvel and we kept being reminded of our drives in the Philippines a few years back.  We finally saw the Sequoia trees AND SNOW.  They grow between 5500 to 6500 feet and only in this park of North America.  There were lots and the road wandered between them, up and down.  It was near impossible to drive and sightsee so we stopped a lot.  At one point, the road split because of the Giants and it made a great place to take pictures.  We stopped of course.  We stopped at a museum that was still open and looked around then went on deeper and higher in the Park.  We stopped at the SHERMAN TREE and walked around.  This is the biggest but not the oldest Sequoia tree in the Park and it was beautiful.  There was a nice, well-kept trail to it and of course lots of other Sequoias.  We took pictures and continues on our adventure.  We stopped at LODGEPOLE VISITOR CENTRE which was closed then at the WUSACHI LODGE (7300 feet) which was open and we had a cup of coffee here and walked around a bit.  It was cold but tolerable in my shorts and jacket.  Most of all the side road trips were closed due to the snow and our trip ended at WUSACHI because the road was closed beyond here due to the recent fires and unstable side hills and rock slides.  Too bad because we wanted to drive to KINGS CANYON.  Another time I guess! 

After our coffees, we drove back to the Park Entrance and took more pictures.  We stopped part way down and had our lunch that we had packed up.  The Jeep was in second gear in places due to the steepness and length.  We got back down safely, stopped to returned the chains which we didn’t need and went home!

WOW is all I can say about this day.  It was impressive, inspiring and awesome!  We enjoyed every minutes and miles of this journey.

November 2 and 3, 2015; A day in Mariposa and onward to Sequoia National Park

NOV 2, MONDAY; One more day in Mariposa

WHAT A CHANGE!!!  We woke up to pouring rain and it lasted all day.  We decided to stay one more day as I didn’t feel like driving in this stuff, (we heard on the news that there was an eight cars pile-up).  After a very lazy morning, we went to town and did laundry.  I sent an e-mail to INDIAN WELLS RV PARK and made reservations for Nov 5 to 19.  After laundry, we found the local bar and had lunch and a drink then came home.  The rain finally let off around 3 pm but it is a heavy overcast sky out there and the temperature dropped to the low 60’s F.

NOV 3, TUESDAY; ONWARD to SEQUOIA PARK

Woke up to cloudy sky but no rain although it did rain on and off all night.  We were on the road by 8:30 am and drove back toward MERCED then 99 South to Visalia on HWY 198 where we stopped for a break and McDonald coffees.  We continued on up to 1100 feet where we went through Three Rivers village and found our campground at the North end.  We paid for two nights and settled in.  We got here at 1:30 pm so we went for a short walk around the campground looking for bears as the owner told us they were around and apparently one likes to spent the night in the tree behind our rig…very comforting!!!  Our drive up was cloudy and we got some rain on the way up but it was sunny when we set up.  We went for a drive to the village and check things out and visited a couple other campground and saw two bears; a black and a brown one.  They didn’t seem all that scare of us!  Took a couple pictures then continues our exploration.  We went up to the Park and found a bar/restaurant by the river, very quaint.  We had a beer and wings then headed back down to our little home.  It rained again but when we got down to our campground, the pavement was dry. A quiet evening at home and looking forward to tomorrow.

N  36* 27.527’

W 118* 52.882’

ALT:880 Ft

Yosemite to Sequoia NP - https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zp8Avi7gfbhg.kBM7leosjszc&usp=sharing

We drove 165 miles in 3 hrs @ an average 51MPH and stopped for an hour and half.

November 1, 2015; Yosemite National Park

NOVEMBER 1, 2015, SUNDAY; Yosemite Park

WOW, what a fantastic day!  It was sunny and warm all day.  First we moved our clocks back one hour so I was up at 7am new time.  We headed south on Hwy 49 with the Jeep to Oakhurst then north on Hwy 41.  I am glad we took this road as I was planning on leaving this way but not anymore.  It was tortuous and up and down.  Fun to drive with the Jeep but NOT the Beaver.  First we stopped at the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad, an interesting place where there was an old steam train with rail cars to take people on a one-hour tour however we didn’t go.  At the Park entrance we paid $25 to get in and found that our first stop, the road to MARIPOSA GROVE, was closed due to repairs so we continued on.  We stopped at the Wawona Hotel and visitor Centre, took a look around then back to the road.  The drive to GLACIER POINT Rd was very picturesque but not many places where we could stop to take pictures.  We turned onto Glacier Point Rd and went up and up to 7300 feet and had a majestic view of the valley and the surrounding.  We took dozens of pictures of the area, the famous HALF DOME and the Vernal falls and the Nevada falls.  This whole area was formed by glaciers millions of years ago.  We spent generous time in this area and walked around to explore.  Then we drove back down to the WAWONA Rd (Hwy 41).  From this point, we began our descend to the Village in the Yosemite Valley.  We drove through a one-mile tunnel and stopped on the other side to take pictures of the Valley and the river.  From this point on, the road was one-way so we didn’t have to worry about meeting traffic.  We stopped at BRIDALVEIL FALLS, a very interesting area.  We had to hike up to the view point.  As you watch the water coming down (almost a free fall), the chute would move from side to side and form a veil hence the name.  I even took a short video of it.  We had to park away from the village and walk in.  We had lunch here (very expensive), looked around and walk back to the car.  Time was moving on and we had to get back before dark so we headed out.  We took more pictures of EL Capitan, Lower Yosemite Falls, The Sentinel rock and a few other sites.  The road back was called Northside Drive and El Portal roadway.  Again it was one way but eventually became two ways!   We eventually reached Hwy 140 and Mariposa.  We stopped for some groceries and it was dark by the time we arrived home.  It was a FANTASTIC DAY and I recommend it to anyone.  It is a dream road for motorbikes!!!