Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Trip Report Great time in California Part 2

We left the coast behind and headed inland. Crossing deserts and military areas was interesting. We stopped at what one guide book called an ugly town... Trona. The book was right. We stopped for ice cream.... looked around quickly, didn't hear any banjos and carried on.

We were stopped on a mountain by a state trooper for about 20 minutes. Seems they were filming a KIA commercial just around the next bend. so we go to chat with the officer about the area...

Onward to Death Valley. WOW !!! I was so impressed. I loved it.
We stayed at the Furnace Ranch and our little cabin was fine. Certainly not the Ritz... but fine. The scenery was outstanding. It truly was one of the highlights of our trip. The temp was 112, but we didn't mind. NO humidity... no sweating!! The mountains surrounding the valley reminded me of the Andes near Salta Argentina...so many beautiful colours. After a couple of days there, on to Lee Vining, near the entrance to Yosemite.
The hotel was budget,... Murphey's and fine for the night.

We went down the road to Whoa Nellie Deli and had a delicious meal. I had prime rib and loved it. If you are passing this way, don't miss it.

On to Yosemite. WOW. I loved it all.
But truly loved the day we went to see the giant sequoias. They were breathtaking. My back co-operated and I managed a 3 hour hike, 1/2 of it being all uphill. I was very proud of my back!!

Then it was all over and we had to return to SFO to fly home. We stayed our last night by the airport, and loved the little downtown area of South San Francisco. ( We went for a little drive and got lost!!)

And so ended a wonderful vacation. Thanks so much to everyone who patiently answered all my questions.
I felt our timing was just right and we saw all we wanted to see.

The only blip was arriving at Yosemite at dusk. There was a line up to register and so it was dark by the time we got our keys. The lack of signs made it nearly impossible to know where the cabins were, never mind our particular cabin. I was close to tears driving in circles.... and finally we found the parking lot. Then using a stupid little flashlight from the dollar store, we found our way to our cabin...near the back, of course..
It took three back and forth to get all our stuff into the cabin. The bear warnings were so strong, we dare not leave anything in the car. We had tons of water ( as we were told to have in Death VAlley). It all had to be carted into the cabin...through the dirt, in the dark , into the cabin. Toedtoes and LoveItaly, thank goodness for the little cart!!) HOpefully the next person appreciated the tons of bottles of water that we left behind!!

So thanks again everyone!! California rocks!!!