After a pretty uneventful couple of days in Sacramento I took the train to Yosemite. I was up early doors, 5am in fact, the train left at 6.30am, far too early! I had a 2 hour journey up to Merced in the central Californian valley and along the way passed through a number of small country towns, Lodi, Stockton and Modesto. Along the way I spotted lots of farmhouses with old trucks rusting in the yards and endless crop fields, all of them with the morning mist still hanging in the air. It was nice to finally move away from busy cities into the quiet and greenery of the countryside. I transferred to a bus at Merced for the rest of the journey into Yosemite.

Another hour or so and I arrived at my hostel, well, the long road that leads up to it anyway! It's a steep climb and no fun to walk up when you have 3 bags, it nearly killed me! As I arrived quite early I decided to go into the next town, Mariposa, to stock up on food and save a few quid. I hurriedly asked the guy on reception what time the next bus was due and made a run for the bus that was due in 10 mins time. What I didnt ask was when the next bus back was. Turns out i was to wait 6 hours once I got into Mariposa. Great! Mariposa is a former gold rush town, not very big with one main road running straight through it. A lot of the buildings from the gold rush days are still standing and it has a very local small town vibe to it even though they now have a Burger King there, ha ha. So with 6 hours to kill I set about working out how to kill it.

I sat about in the sun and read my book until it clouded over and I had to retreat to some warmth so I had a look around the Mariposa museum which houses hundreds of different items from the gold rush days. Old clothing, old papers, guns, even some 150 years old powdered nutmeg! Pity I wasnt allowed to take photos. Then I wrote my shopping list as I planned to have a beer or two and i'm useless in the supermarket after a drink, ha ha. I called into a truckstop bar in the town, the Miners Inn which was full of locals lined up at the bar. Predictably the barmaid didnt get it right that I'm English and instead thought I was Irish? I was just getting used to people thinking I'm an Aussie too, ha ha.. After a read of my book and 4 beers I went shopping and got everything I'd came for except for a loaf of bread which was essential as I'd bought things to go with it. I got all the way back to the hostel 8 miles down the road before I realised. What a dumbass.

The hostel was quite nice, mainly lots of different cabins set out on the side of a hill. Typically, my dorm room was all the way at the top of the hill away from the kitchen and the main communal area. Still, the plus side was it was nice and quiet at night. The communal area had a typical lodge feel to it with stuffed deer and boars heads mounted above the fireplace (which incidentally didnt get lit while I was there as it's nearly summer now in Yosemite, shame)

I crashed out pretty early that night and was up and about early the next morning to make the most of the day in the park. I caught the bus down to Yosemite Valley which is about 25 miles away from my hostel, a good hours drive. The further I travelled into the valley the bigger the mountains either side of the road got and before long it was just pine trees everywhere. Along the way we passed a section of road that was completely covered in rocks, a major landslide had taken place some time ago and the road has had to be re-routed via a one way traffic light system and two temporary bridges. If anyone was travelling that stretch when it happened I wouldnt think they would have stood a chance! On the way into the park I spotted a bear from the bus but wasnt quick enough getting my camera out, damnit!

After leaving the bus and stocking up on water I had a wander around the valley, stopping first at Yosemite Falls which is the 5th highest waterfall in the world. Its absolutely amazing to look at, any photo I've taken of it doesnt give a good enough idea of just how stunning it is to look at with your own two eyes. Just standing near the base of the falls is enough to get a decent soaking, good job I packed my raincoat! From there I had a wander around the river that runs from the base of the falls. It's warming up in Yosemite right now as its spring but there's still a lot of snow on the ground. From there I caught the shuttle bus that runs around the valley. I got off up the road and walked about 40 mins up to Mirror Lake which was just great. There's beautiful scenery at every turn in Yosemite and so much of it too! I chilled for a while, took in my surroundings and had a bite to eat whilst laying on a big rock before heading back to the visitors centre where I caught the bus back to the hostel. I didnt want to find out what would happen if I missed the last bus back!

That evening there was a local bluegrass band playing at the hostel and every man and his dog (literally) from all around came down for it. I chatted with a couple from Essex and had some wine while we watched the band. After much line dancing (not on my part) and whooping I called it a night as I was drained from walking around all day. The next day was the Mariposa butterfly parade, (Mariposa means butterfly in Spanish), an annual event for the townsfolk that amongst other things included in the parade, boasted a classic car procession, tons of well maintained muscle cars gleaming in the sun. The event had the usual 'village fete' feel to it like you'd get anywhere except that they release butterflies to commerorate it. The thing was, for some reason a large swarm of angry bee's were hovering around as the butterflies were about to get released, which distracted everyone. I couldnt help but chuckle seeing all the old ladies panic and run for cover! ha ha

I then watched a skateboard competition for an hour or two which was fun but disappointing as no-one broke any bones. Even a 62 year old guy on a board managed to walk away unscathed! After that I headed to another bar in Mariposa where I enjoyed 4 pints of relatively flat beer whilst listening to mucic on the jukebox. This bar was a proper country place full of taxidermied hunt victories mounted on the walls with old world-weary cowboy types with hats and droopy moustaches drinking at the bar. I looked for a spitoon but couldnt spot one. So after my afternoon refreshment I caught the bus back to the hostel and cooked myself some food. I chatted with a couple of girls from San Francisco, drank the rest of my wine and then hit the sack. I got back to my dorm room to find that everyone else had checked out and I had the room to myself for the rest of my stay, winner! I've almost forgotten what it's like to sleep in a room on my own.

Despite having a tad of a hangover the following morning I was up, on the bus and into the park again as I wanted to see some more of the scenery as it was my last day. I walked around a few spots in the valley that I hadnt yet seen and spotted a wild deer within feet of me, no bears though, bit disappointing! This time I took a different route and walked up to Vernal Falls which is about a 2 hour round trip from the base of the valley. It was uphill all the way which was punishing but well worth it once I arrived at the falls itself! Vernal Falls is nowhere near as high as Yosemite Falls but its a lot more ferocious in terms of how much water comes pouring over the edge. After a few minutes at the top I was semi soaked and also refreshed after the long walk up there! After a lunch stop on the way down I headed back to the bus stop to catch the last bus out of the park. I could sit here and write all day about how stunning Yosemite is but it wouldnt give you a clear enough idea, you'd have to see it for yourself to really appreciate it. Even photos cant demonstrate enough just how awesome a place it is! SO GO AND SEE IT!!

So my last night was spent getting organised for the off today. I had a last beer in the bar (another flat one too, whats wrong with these people?) and crashd out.

I took the Amtrak into San Francisco today and am looking forward to a full day of exploring the city tomorrow, hence why i'm sat up late getting the blog out of the way. Again. I wish I had someone to write this for me!

See ya!