Day 6 (21 August 2015)

Our Dodge Durango "Bertha" at Delano, north of Los Angeles.

The front area of a road side rest stop north of Delano, California - great information site and picnic area.

Somewhere north of Fresco, California during a leg break stop.

Our Bertha along the Yosemite Valley near the entrance to the National Park tollgate. 

A late afternoon view of El Capitan in the Yosemite National Park. This high monster is frequently scaled by rock climbers - some without rock equipment.

One of the many rock features inside the Yosemite National Park valley.

Late summer water spill over the Bridle Falls in Yosemite National Park

A mule deer inside Yosemite National Park.

Another view of El Capitan in the Yosemite National Park.

We left Los Angeles at 7:45am and hit a congested freeway heading north. With twelve lanes across the traffic jam for 20 kilometres or near about was slow. After passing through a junction where traffic was heading into Los Angeles and we were heading out the road trip was uneventful. At a place called Delano we visited a Walmart and purchased supplies and lunch. Walmart sell easy fresh take-away foods the locals call South-West Salads, Cobb Salads and Ranch Salads that make an inexpensive and non-fattening lunch. At noon we consumed our repast at a rest stop. After lunch we passed through Fresno and headed north on normal country roads to El Portal. We have booked a lodge at this place located just a few miles from the entrance to Yosemite National park. After check-in we paid $30 (per vehicle) for a seven day pass into the park and travelled as far as El Capitan. This is a high steep sheer cliff prominently visible from the interior park road. Apparently many climbers scale this monster mountain some without ropes and climbing equipment – crazy people! Also we checked out the Bridle Falls which at this time of the year was dry from lack of water supply from the surrounding mountains- California is suffering from a severe drought not seen for decades. Returning to our lodge we refuelled “Big Bertha” – yes that is the name we gave our huge four-wheel beastie. The fuel was expensive at $4.20 USD per gallon totalling a $73USD final bill. As our lodge room had a stove and cooking facilities we served ourselves steak and salads washed down with a local beer. Tomorrow we will explore Yosemite National park more deeply and may utilise their free shuttle service between each major site. Cheers to all our friends.