Yosemite or Bust!!

Not much more than a week after landing from Hawaii, we loaded up our van with a week's worth of food, clothes, and driving diversion fun, and after a fun Sunday visit from our old Syracuse neighbors (practically FAMILY!) the Merritt's, we got up around 4 AM Monday morning to drive to Groveland, CA--just out of Yosemite.  Maddie stayed behind to keep earning $, which was sad but noble of her! The kids were great for such a long, screen-free day.  We had a box of layered Dollar Store prizes to divide the hours and a few books on cd to listen to, but overall, they were pretty easy-going. It was SUCH a long day--most of it going through our own county that touches the Western Utah border, then into Nevada, where we stopped in Winnemucca for lunch, and then just as the border changed, we started to see alarmingly blue Mono Lake, gargantuan jutting peaks after miles of flat, and a narrow winding roads!
The house we rented was on the West side of the park, so we had quite a scenic journey crossing through, but after such a long, exhausting day of driving (it had been 12 hours by now), Brian was worried for our lives more than enjoying the views.  We've been around plenty of mountains, but I'd never seen anything quite like this!--the mounds and peaks and domes seemed to just explode out of the ground in such dramatic ways, that it was really breathtaking (though Brian's gasps were not of awe!).  Once out of the park, we soon realized the lake community of our house had nearly as many twists and turns.  We finally found the house just before dark (THANKFULLY!!) and unloaded up a hilariously steep driveway that our van could not even traverse! We ate and crashed happily thankful to all be in one piece, and to find that our rental house Mamma Jamma's Tree House (seriously the name) was fun, spacious, and well-furnished with comfy beds, a well-equipped kitchen, and pool table.  (Disoriented Jane was so relieved to be out of the car that she just sat in the one familiar object:  the cooler?)

Our first dome on the drive through the park:  Lembert Dome