Yosemite National Park

Tip 1 – Absolutely don’t drive on Old Priest’s Grade to get to Yosemite from the north. It is incredibly steep and twisty and not meant for a trailer. So why isn’t there a sign other than "Turn Off your Air Conditioning"?

Tip 2 – There is no gas available in Yosemite Valley, so don’t arrive on E. There is one gas station inside the park before you descend into the valley. Don’t miss it! Pay whatever outrageous price they ask!

We arrived at Yosemite just two days after a major snowstorm which meant that for a time everybody had been required to have chains on their cars and trailers. But our timing was lucky, and snow in the valley itself was mostly melted when we arrived on April 15. We had reserved a site in Upper Pines Campground and the melting had created some unglamorous “lakes” and mud around our particular site. Mornings were cold enough to put on winter coats, but the days quickly warmed to jacket or short sleeve weather.

Yosemite is wonderfully uncrowded in mid-April, and we stayed for five nights, enjoying the beautiful mountains and waterfalls, guided nature walks, and hikes from easy to strenuous. Yosemite draws a very international crowd and foreign languages seem at least as common as English. Later in the season the waterfalls dry up, the temps go beastly and the crowds get overwhelming. Yosemite runs a great shuttle service so you can leave your car at the campground for most activities.

Recommended at Yosemite:

• lunch at the Ahwahnee Hotel. We were seated in an alcove at the far end of the beautiful dining room, with a view of one of the falls. Queen Elizabeth II sat here when she visited in 1984.

• live show by actor Lee Stetson, who portrays naturalist John Muir

Regarding the campgrounds—there are no sites with utilities, but we made it five days with conservative use of water and battery power. In fact, our 12V battery still read G (good) after our time in Yosemite. We were E (empty) on fresh water at the very end of our stay.

Upper Yosemite Fall

Clouds descend on the Yosemite Valley

Half Dome