The Last Two Days...

Originally, we'd planned to spend three days in Yosemite National Park. The reality, though, is that we'd see as much as we could, within reason, during those first two days that a third trip would've resulted in us spending more time in areas we'd already been. Not that doing that would've been a bad thing, but it would've been a little redundant.

So, on Thursday, we opted to just hang out at Andy's He's got some nice digs in Bass Lake, so it wasn't too much of a struggle deciding to just hang out for the day.

After a while, we decided to head up to Bass Lake (the actual lake, not the town), and take Andy's two dogs out for a bit. Kazumie (not sure of the spelling on that one) and Kona are two rather mild-mannered dogs who love just hanging out in the great outdoors.

Kona and Kazumie. Hangin' out...

Bass Lake stretches four miles from one end to the other, and is about a half a mile at its' widest. It's also a tourist paradise this time of year. The lake was filled with every kind of imaginable watercraft, from jet-skis to power boats. There were folks sunning on the beach, and swimming in the shallows. It was, in a word, idyllic from a Chamber Of Commerce point of view.

Bass Lake

Bass Lake

I have to be honest, I don't get out into what would be considered "nature" too often these days but, after this week, and after the afternoon at the lake, I could probably get used to it. I enjoyed hanging out at the lake, and I even took the time to represent the home team:

Me at Bass Lake...

Hanging out with Andy and the dogs at Bass Lake...

We left the lake about 3:45pm, and took a drive up to the town of Mariposa. about a half hour away. We just wanted to check out some of the smaller towns. Martiposa has a population of 2,173 so, while considerably larger than Fish Camp, it's considerably smaller than the closest town to Bass Lake, which is Oakhurst.

It's a quaint little mountain town that was originally a mining camp. Now it's half hometown and half tourist destination. We spent some time walking through the various tourist-oriented stores, and were dismayed to find that what appeared to be the only bar in town, the 49'er Club, was closed. It was pretty warm, especially on that side of the street with the sun, and a col, frosty adult beverage would've been nice. C'est la vie, I suppose.

The 49'er Club in Mariposa, California...

After the drive back to Andy's, he proceeded to flex his muscle in the kitchen, making an incredible dinner which, frankly, was the best of the entire trip.

The next day, Friday, brought with it the prospect of the drive back to San Diego. It ended up being a much longer drive than I thought. I figured it would be a little over six hours, but the traffic we ran into, trying to avoid Los Angeles, was incredible. It really makes me appreciate what we consider to be "traffic" in San Diego.

So, this trip came to a close. Goodbyes were said and parting photos were taken.

Until next time, or course...

Me with the most gracious host, Andy Platfoot. I don't know why we did the pointy-finger thing...