ADMIRATION FOR MONOLITH GIANTS

DAY 13: Yosemite National Park

We rose fairly early with a bear-free night's sleep and had a DIY breakfast in our tent before heading out to see the natural wonders that surrounded us.

To maximise our viewing pleasure we decided not to hike the 10 mile round trip to Glacier Point but to drive instead on account of our limited time and lack of walking gear.

Our first stop was Yosemite Falls where we climbed over boulders, rocks and flowing water to the foot of the falls which was really good fun and quite thirsty work. We stocked up with loads of water a few days before so it would have been handy if we'd taken some of it with us. We were greeted with a lovely water hole when we reached the top of the rocks, not good for drinking though.

On our descent back down we passed two older-aged Asian guys climbing up, one of which was wearing a pair of slip on loafers! I was struggling on the smooth rocks in my trainers, so god knows how he managed.

After that bit of a work out we continued our drive out of Yosemite Valley, stopping to admire the sheerness of El Capitan's cliff face. It's amazing looking up at something so imposing. After briefly looking at it again from the other side across the meadow and the river, which was just picture perfect, we drove up the long, winding road to the summit of Glacier Point, stopping at tunnel view for the most incredible view of the Valley which takes in all the big monoliths in one view.

After we climbed the 20 or so miles to Glacier Point, what greeted us was just simply breathtaking. The most awe-inspiring panoramic view that words cannot describe and photos cannot capture nor do justice. The sight of Half Dome and beyond was out of this world. The only way to appreciate its vastness and beauty is to be there. Well done Mother Nature.

It's difficult to pull yourself away from something so spectacular, but we had to in order to make our journey to Oakhurst, about an hour and a half south of where we were, to stay for the night.

The descent down from the High Sierra is a nice drive but as you're coming down from the mountains (I think we reached 6,000 ft above sea level at one point), it does flatten a little.

We checked in to a Comfort Inn for the night at about 5.30ish. They don't lie, it was probably our best accommodation yet with the most comfortable bed yet. Oakhurst is in Gold Country, so it's steeped in history and visual reminders of that era, but it did feel a bit 'out in the sticks'.

We crossed the road for some hearty grub in a diner then came back to enjoy a relaxing night in the comfort we hadn't really experienced for over a week. I had one of the biggest cans of Bud I've ever seen, let alone drunk, which eased me into the night just perfectly. We also purchased a little livener for Vegas to get us started on Monday night.