I drove from Mammoth Lakes up to the Tioga Pass entrance on the east side of Yosemite.  Along the highway were great views of the mountains on the east side of the park.  That side of the park is at an elevation of about 8000 feet and the peaks are not too much higher and still have some snow cover.

I drove through the park and stopped at Pothole Dome, just a little (compared to some others) lump of granite.  I scrambled up to the top – maybe a couple hundred feet and snapped a few pictures of the meadow below.

From there I headed down to Yosemite Valley which is the center of the park and contains the primary points of interest in the park; El Capitan, Half Dome, Yosemite and Bridalveil Falls.  It’s simply gorgeous.  I got some good pictures – to be posted soon.<br /><br />By the time I watched the short film about the park at the visitor center, it was time to head to my campground.  As I was unable to reserve a space in the park, I had to stay at a KOA outside the park.  Unfortunately, the most direct route to the campground was closed due to a rockslide.  So I had to take the long route, out the south end of the park and back around.  It was about 2 and half hours from Yosemite Valley.  The west side of the park is about 4000 feet below the east side.  Where the east side was nice and cool yesterday, it was hot on the west side – back in the upper 90s.  It’s cooling down nicely now that the sun has gone down though, so it’s not too bad.

No power, at my campsite, but this campground has a TV room – with AC.  So that’s where I’m sitting and working on my website updates tonight.