Day #22: Family Away From Family

Today's Route: Fish Camp, CA to Wawona Campground in Yosemite National Park (10 miles)
Total Trip Miles: 904

We spent last night with Alex's friend's family at their lovely cabin in the town of Fish Camp, just south of Yosemite. It was great to have a break from camping. And it was even greater to be around a bunch of wonderful people who seemed like family.

After we left the cabin, we met up with Randy at the Tenaya Lodge, in Fish Camp. While the lodge is absolutely gorgeous, I didn't exactly feel comfortable at the lodge. Having been on the road for three weeks now, the extravagance of the lodge seemed over-the-top. With rooms costing $371 a night, I was reminded of how differently I value money. Having the freedom to spend time the way I want is so much more important to me than occasional fancy vacations that do nothing but temporarily numb the dullness of being caught-up in the work-to-consume lifestyle.

At $3 a pop, these must be very special Clif Bars.

It was a few short miles of riding before we entered Yosemite National Park. I'm so excited to be here!

Yosemite!!!

We stopped at the historic Wawona Hotel, on the south side of the park.

The Wawona Hotel.

I greatly enjoyed relaxing outside, sitting in the most comfortable wicker chairs on the hotel's magnificent porch. Oh, what a life!

The upper part of me relaxing.

And the lower part of me relaxing.

Randy relaxes, too, while reviewing some Yosemite literature.

We walked around the Pioneer Yosemite History Center for awhile. What I found most interesting were the hordes of tourists!

Look at the line to use the outhouse!

I come to National Parks for the wilderness -- not for the people. And so I was ready to quickly bike the final distance to our campground.

As the holiday weekend is tapering off, I expected the park to be busy, but I hoped the campgoers had thinned out a bit. Indeed, there were very few people in the campground.

Our campsite is right next to the South Fork of the Merced River. The sound of the rushing water is amazingly therapeutic -- the stress generated by the hordes dissipated in no time at all.

Wading in the South Fork of the Merced.

Happy, immersed feet.

Tomorrow we are meeting up with my older brother and his girlfriend in Yosemite Valley. We'll spend a few days together exploring the park.

And so while I am grateful to have started the day in Fish Camp with new friends who seemed like family-away-from-family, I'm grateful to be ending the day knowing that I'll get to see part of my real family tomorrow.