El Capitan

You may not need an intro to this shot, pretty iconic. And even though I've seen it before, I still swore rather loudly to myself at seeing it. It is freakin amazing.

So, what an interesting day. Decided not to bike again today, a little sore after yesterdays exertion and crash, so instead I decided to leave mammoth early and head back to LA, via Yosemite. Haha, I must be nuts, 700km of driving, plus lots of stops. Lots.

First stop, Mono Lake and the tufas. fantastic.
Second stop, Lee Vining for gas. And probably the friendliest person in the service industry I have met in the US. Most are very inspiring. No wonder people like NZ!
Third stop (actually lots in this category) - the drive up to Tioga pass. Wow, that is one amazing road. Wow, wow, wow.
Then multiple stops along the Tioga pass highway. Lembert Dome, Toulome Meadows and so many other fab places.
And then down into the valley, such a long way down.

And even that provided a highlight. It appears they do managed burnoffs in the park so we had to drive through a (controlled) forest fire. Got told off when I stopped to take photos, so instead I resorted to thru the windscreen pics ;-)

And then into the valley. Just fantastic! El Capitan, rising 300ft from the valley, all the waterfalls, and of course Half Dome.

And then it was time to head the last 300 or so miles back to LA. Not nearly such as nice a drive as up 395 thru the desert (on the other side). Hours of driving down a Freeeway.

So, it was a relief to be in LA at 8pm, see the hotel is OK, and open a cold beer.

Conference tomorrow.