Tioga Pass, Glacier Point and Home - Saturday May 11th

It was a beautiful calm cloudless day in South Lake Tahoe, when we prepared to set off for home. Mark and Andrea were heading south on 395 as far as they could go today, and I decided to join them to the eastern end of Tioga Pass.

The lake was calm and clear as the sun rose

The drive south on 395 was wonderful. There was little traffic, and the scenery of the mountains was beautiful.

We took a short break in the small (population 575, altitude 6463ft) town of Bridgeport. This is fishing country.

Burgers, Burritos, Ice Cream, and....Massage. OK, slightly unusual combination....

If I was to open a Surf Shop, I think I might have chosen somewhere a little closer to sea level....

Deer Processing. Home of the "Roadkill" Sandwich. Yumm, delicious.....

Driving south on 395 

At Lee Vining (6781 ft), on the shores of Mono Lake, the convoy broke up. Mark and Andrea continued south on 395, and I turned west onto 120 and over the Tioga Pass which had opened that morning after the winter break.

Tioga Pass rises steeply on the East Side and then slopes more gently to the West. The views are amazing...

Frozen lakes, and snow-capped mountains. The summit of Tioga Pass is at 9,943ft

Peaks over 10,000ft too numerous to mention

Tenaya Lake at 8,150ft

Above Tenaya Lake

Approaching the West End of the Pass. View of Half Dome from Olmstead Point

At the west end of Tioga Pass traffic became busy. The news was out that the pass was open, and everyone wanted to take a look. As I drove down CA-120 towards Yosemite, the traffic got even busier. We were lucky to have witnessed the valley during the week when it was much quieter. I did not go into Yosemite Valley itself, but headed back out towards Fresno on CA-41. Of course, I had to stop at "Tunnel View" on the way out for the mandatory last look at the valley in all its magnificence.

El Capitan on the left, Bridalveil Falls on the right, and Half Dome guarding the end of the valley

As I had missed the opportunity to visit Glacier Point on our day in Yosemite, I took the one hour (driving) detour and (untimed) staring detour when I arrived. Hundreds and Thousands of people, but nothing could spoil the view.

Half Dome feels so close that you can almost reach out and touch it. The camera does not do the view justice..

Yosemite Falls from Glacier Point

View East to the High Sierra. Nevada Falls (center left), Vernal Falls (lower left)

With that, I headed to Fresno to spend Mother's Day with my family. I will return the E-Type to the coast later in the week. Thanks to everyone for the company, and drive safely home...

Lake Tahoe - Day 5 - Friday 10th May

The final day of the COLT was at a much more relaxed pace than the previous four. It allowed us to recharge ourselves for the drive home. The morning was spent on individual activities, before we met for lunch overlooking the lake.

Cognac spent the morning catching up on his tan on the beach.

Excursions on the lake anyone?

After lunch we took a leisurely drive around Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is 1,645 ft (501 m), making it the second-deepest in the United States. The deepest is Crater Lake in Oregon, being 300 ft (91 m) deeper, at 1,945 ft (593 m) that we visited at the end of the NWOL.

Emerald Bay of Lake Tahoe

Fannette Island in Emerald Bay. The island contains what is left of "Tea House", a building constructed by the owner of Vikingsholm, Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight. 

View across Lake Tahoe from the northern shore

As the drive neared its close, I made a lame attempt to get a action photo of four of the cars rounding a curve with the lake in the background. Jerry, Lloyd, and Philippe/Francoise had turned off the road to admire the view a mile or two before the site I chose. The idea was to park my car by the side of the road with the lake behind, and then catch the three cars as they drove past, "pulling the trigger" as the drove past my car. Needless to say, as Chuck Goolsbee will remember from the SOL, such plans rarely work out. Before our cars drove by, a couple showed up in their red junker and parked it behind my car. The only way to get it out of the picture was to catch our cars as they passed in front of it. This made the timing rather tough....

Jerry was first to pass. I snapped a bit too early, so the red car is visible. Lloyd can be seen rounding the curve behind

I just about got LLoyd spot on! Hardly any of the red car is visible. Philippe and Francoise right behind

Finally I nailed it. No sign of the red car at all...

And so, came to an end, the 2013 COLT. Jerry headed for home around 5pm, with the rest of us staying for dinner at McDuffs. We all set off for home tomorrow, after a very enjoyable 5 days. I hope to drive over Tioga Pass on my return drive tomorrow if it opens as scheduled at noon. I will post photos if I am lucky enough to do so. I wish everyone a safe drive home, and hope to see them on a future xOL.

Yosemite to Lake Tahoe - Day 4 - Thursday 9th May

As befits the differing "comfort levels" of our cars, we spent Wednesday night in accommodations with similar comfort levels. Philippe and Franchoise in the Z8 with butt-warmers stayed in a comfortable room at at the Tenaya Lodge. Mark and Andrea went up-market from their XK120 OTS with no top to one of the few rooms (with walls!) at Curry Village. Lloyd (E-type OTS with the top up, heat and A/C) and Jerry (E-type FHC) stayed in a heated tent-cabin at Curry Village. David with his E-type OTS and no top to speak of, stayed in an unheated tent-cabin at Housekeeping Camp. We were to meet up at 11am to leave for Tahoe. Until then, we had time to explore. This is what I did....

I woke about 2am, 3am, 4am, with little feeling in my toes. It was cold; very cold... Rather than suffer frostbite, I decided to get up and explore the valley as the sun rose.

Housekeeping camp tent cabin. 3 solid walls; a 4th canvas wall and canvas roof. No heat. 5am. Flash reflecting off bear-proof locker.

The lack of heat in the cabin was compensated by it's location. I was right by the edge of the Merced River by the Yosemite Falls, and could step out and see the sun rise in an amazing place...

North Dome (L), Royal Arches (Center), Half Dome (R) over the Merced River as the sun rises

The dogwoods are in bloom at this time of year throughout the valley - an amazing sight

Yosemite Falls - over 3000 feet from the valley rim to the floor

The lowest of the three stages of Yosemite Falls

Half Dome as the sun rises

The mist clears as the sun rises

Amazing sights all around

El Capitan

Bridalveil Falls from the north side of the valley

Bridalveil Falls up from its base - camera lens covered in fine mist

View of Yosemite Falls whilst treating water in the middle of the Merced River!

North Dome, Royal Acrhes and Half Dome again in full daylight

Too soon, it was time to leave Yosemite Valley, so we set out on CA-120 towards Sonora.

A last view of Yosemite Valley and Bridalveil Falls as we head out on CA-120

Our next stop was at the Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown. When a railway buff creates the itinerary, you have got to expect at least one railway museum! We walked down into town and had an excellent lunch at the Willow Steakhouse. We then returned to the museum and took a self-guided tour.

Mark would be better qualified than I to caption this photo - 2 choo choos

You won't find a 5/16" wrench here...

Contrast this shoddily fitted split-pin to the immaculately fitted pins on the SR-71 from the NWOL

In the machine shop, everything was driven by a network of belts. Safety guards are for wimps!

We headed out from Jamestown around 4pm on CA-49. Our route to Lake Tahoe was to take us over Ebbetts Pass (CA-4 and CA-89) which had opened after the winter 2-3 weeks ago.

Still plenty of snow on the ground as we ascended Ebbett's Pass

Mosquito Lake arond 8000'. Still frozen over, so no mosquitoes...

Still climbing - there was a brief flurry of sleet before we reached the summit

At the summit, an impromptu snowball fight broke out.. 

Summit of Ebbett's Pass

Add caption

The drive down from the summit on CA-4, CA-89, CA-88 was dramatic, and as the sun came out, very enjoyable. We finally rolled into Lake Tahoe around 7pm. For once, there were no catastrophes today, for which we were truly thankful. Mark and Andrea treated us to a wonderful dinner at the Riva Grill overlooking the lake before some of us fell asleep at the table... Time to recharge our batteries with a good night's sleep.