Sitting over coffee this morning, I make an "executive decision". I've got two ways to head out of the Park to Reno...the "short way" (250 miles) would take me out the back way of the Park...a 30 mile or so drive down into the Valley, then back up the northern side...another 60 mile or so drive up as high as 11,000 feet. I don't think so. The "long way" (350 miles) would take me out of the Park the way I came, back to the Central Valley and hook up with Route 99/I-80 through Sacramento. I'm taking the "long route", and to make things easier, I'll leave tomorrow morning and stay somewhere between Sacramento and Reno.
So, today being my last day here, it's back down into the valley one last time. Road construction continues and, this morning, there's a 30 minute wait about half way down. The crowds seem thinner this morning, and I find a day parking spot with no problem. Then, I'm back on the shuttle, stopping here and there for more photos. For lunch, I grab another sandwich at the General Store before getting back on the shuttle. Later, there's the customary 30+ minute wait for another parking spot so that I can get ice.
Then, I'm heading back up into the mountains to camp. It takes me about two hours to pack up and get ready to leave tomorrow. One "open issue" is how I'm going to hitch up the camper. Because of the tight space, I had to pull in, unhitch, and move the camper off to the side using the trailer dolly. This allowed me to get the Escape out, but left no room to hitch up again. So...the only choice is to wheel the camper out of my site onto the campground road and hitch up there. It looks to be downhill, so I THINK that I'll be able to pull this off tomorrow morning.
My "reward" for all of this effort is a freshly-shaken icy martini (with olive, of course). Relaxing over my cocktail, I finish up the final chapter of a biography of our second President, John Adams. It was a good read...Adam's sacrifices for our country (most notably the long periods spent in France seeking financial aid, away from the wife that he loved) were remarkable.
For dinner, grill up some more marinated skirt steak with a side of the last of my pasta...washed down with a nice 2009 Layer Cake Shiraz. Another fire...a last evening in the "wild" before Reno...civilization again!
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