20th August 2010

    Dan had been thinking about his itinerary, and he felt a need to see more of what California had to offer. Rather than stick to the coast, which we had done for the first section of our joint adventure, he wanted to explore the interior a bit more. Together, we hatched a plan to travel up the Sierras and visit Yosemite. The only viable route for us would be to retrace my earlier tracks: through Death Valley, and follow highway 395 to Mono Lake before heading across Tioga Pass into Yosemite.
    With that plan of action agreed, we bade farewell to Las Vegas, the city of illusions, be they man made or myths of winning fortunes. Suitably loaded up with liquids and ice, we made the long drive to Death Valley, stopping off at Badwater for the obligatory walk out onto the salt flats at the lowest point in the western hemisphere. On the guided tour I was giving Dan, we also stopped off at the Harmony Borax Works, the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, and Owens Lake, in order that he capture a part of the history, beauty and heat of the valley.

Father and Son at Badwater, 285 Feet Below Sea Level

    We drove past Lone Pine, where I pointed out the movie favoured Alabama Hills, and Mount Whitney.

Alabama Hills in the Distance, and the Sierra Nevada and Mount Whitney Beyond Those

    My tour then took in Manzanar and Big Pine, before continuing to my planned destination of Bishop. I chose Bishop since it was nearer Yosemite than Lone Pine and Big Pine, and being of larger size, would provide more accommodation opportunities.
    We arrived after 7 hours of traveling, and found accommodation easily. By that time we were ravenous, so we took advantage of the Japanese restaurant next door. The food was excellent, which pleased me since that was Dan's first ever Japanese meal. A little sake helped round off the meal.
    A few beers in a bar down the road wound down the day nicely.