I had started in San Francisco where I had spent the week. Before my departure I went
around the city taking pictures and shopping.
Here is a picture of Alcatraz
taken from the top of the Telegraph hill, SF.
San Francisco skyline from one of the windows of Coit tower. The windows were covered with see-through-plastic.
I left San Fran in the afternoon, arriving to Yosemite NP after dark. The air was cold (30F), sky was clear and the moon was huge. I had never before seen anything like it. My only regret is not taking with me a tripod. With several hours 'til the sunrise I slept in my car, waking up every half hour to warm up the inside.
This is how the Yosemite valley looked in the morning rays of the following day. On the left you may see the 3'000 feet drop of El Capitan. On the right there are two Cathedral Rocks and Bride's Veil water (snow) fall.
I spent the whole morning driving around Yosemite taking pictures and sightseeing. Here is just another view from the thousands.
After leaving Yosemite, I drove through Calaveras county (famous for it's jumping frog competition) trying to cross Sierra Nevada. Three passes were closed, but Carson Pass (8650 ft.) was available. Weather conditions were great and I was able to drive my two-rear-wheel-drive car where at this time road is open only to four wheel drive vehicles equipped with chains. I did stuck though once on the side of the road while taking a picture of a frozen mountain lake. Two inches of loose ice and gravel kept my Mustang nailed to the spot until a nice driver of an SUV gave me a pull.
I took Luther Pass to lake Tahoe. You may see it right next to the road bend, congested with afternoon traffic. I went around the western side of the lake taking some pictures of the Emerald Bay and the only island on the lake.
It got dark before I crossed into Nevada, but I still got a shot of the moon over Tahoe.
The evening was spent driving to Reno on 431, getting a hotel and gambling 'til 4 in the morning.
Rt. 395 from Reno to Pluma's NF was not very spectacular. Although the sight of the mountains was great it was nothing compared with the last day's experiences. I took 44 and 89 going north through Lassen and Shasta NFs. Before taking Rt. 5 there was a great view of mt. Shasta (14'162 ft.) Rt. 5 North brought me to Rt. 96 West which goes along the Klamath river valley and Klamath NF. The road was very curvy but well maintained (... by Boston standards.)
I made it to Eureka in total darkness. After dinner I drove North to Crescent City,
just to return back using the same route in the morning. I wanted to experienced the
Redwood Highway in it's entirety during daylight..
I got up with the first rays of sun. It was cloudy, but weather was changing for better or at least for the few hours that morning. While the coast was so much warmer than the Yosemite valley, the breeze from the ocean made it just as cold. I took all the scenic detours on the Redwood Highway (101) and of course the Avenue of the Giants route. I had seen the Immortal tree, the Founder's tree, the Big tree, I even drove through a few trees. After that, driving on top of one was not a big deal. Although this one is 3'200 years old. The inner most, white line indicates 0 AD (... or 0 BC), when the Christ was born.
Driving along the Redwood highway, there are more than just redwoods. River valleys look spectacular in the morning fog.
Close to Mendocino weather had compeletely spoiled and when I was approaching San Fran
on 101 it was raining cats and dogs. After a quick trip through China town and the rest of
the city I flew to Boston the same evening.
