We had an easy time moving on this morning since we were still hitched from our one night stopover. While we were driving the girls got very excited to see the Halos production facility on the side of the highway...one of our favorite things to eat!
Our destination was a 205 mile drive to the Indian Flat RV Resort about 14 miles west of the Arch Rock entrance to Yosemite National Park. Shortly before reaching the campground on CA-140 we had an interesting detour. There was a rock slide in 2006 making the road completely impassable. The road is still not repaired but they constructed a detour by building two temporary bridges crossing the river that CA-140 winds along. The bridges and the temporary road on the other side of the river are all one lane. Traffic lights control the flow across this detour and you need to patiently wait your turn. The bridges and road were very narrow which was a little unnerving while pulling the RV. The state of California expects to have the main road repaired by 2020.
[Google maps satellite view]
[Our view as we turned onto the detour bridge]
[Rock slide as we drove past it on the detour road]
Shortly after passing the detour we pulled into our campground, which was unlike any other we had stayed. The sites were two to a level on the tiers created in the hillside. There was a very narrow circular road to navigate with lots of large trees everywhere and we had to back into our spot. Adam was trying to figure out exactly how to do this and went back into the office to ask some questions. It was a good thing he did because when he went back the manager realized our reservation was made by someone who had been fired for assigning people to spots without figuring out the logistics. Thankfully there was a site available that was easier to get in than the first because the adjoining site was not yet occupied which meant we could pull straight through instead of backing in. After that site change we were able to pull in quickly and setup camp.
Next up for us was to go to the local market. The drive to get there was so picturesque with a curvy whitewater stream that hugged the side of the road, tall trees everywhere and views of the mountains.
We pulled up to exactly what you would picture a tiny country store to be. We got our groceries there and filled up with gas at the station right next door. This was the only gas station before you get into Yosemite without another one for quite some distance in either direction and they capitalized on that, charging $4.48 for regular.
When we returned we ate a quick dinner outside at our picnic table. Next we walked over to the lodge next to our campsite where we were allowed to use the pool. It was a very hot day and we were all happy to get cooled off with a gorgeous view of the mountain. The girls brought their noodles and couldn't wait to use them again. Adam and I kept noticing almost all the other guests around us were speaking languages we didn't recognize.
While we were at the hotel we went inside to check out their little store and Adam and I decided to get a Chelada to try later (a beer mixed with tomato, salt and lime). There were wooden bear statues everywhere and as we were walking around the girls had to stop to pose for pictures with some of them. Our favorite one was a very large bear sitting by the pool wearing a bathing suit and sunglasses. Unfortunately, they never did take a picture with that one. We swam until the sun set, which turned the sky beautiful colors right in front of us. When we got back Adam and I tried our drink, which was interesting but fun to try something different.
