RV Tour Leg 32 – Yosemite National Park (with friends!)
- Judy Carmein
- May 16, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 30, 2025
May 5 - 16, 2025
In my last post, I mentioned that what I missed most was my shower and my laundry room. That was accurate for my physical life. But in truth, when it comes to my emotional life, what I miss most is family and friends. So it was with great anticipation that we made our way to Yosemite National Park, where our friends Linda and Drevis were flying out to meet us for four nights.
Yosemite is 13 hours from Bryce at RV speed, and since we don’t like to drive more than 3–4 hours a day, we planned four nights to get there. That plan worked perfectly. We watched the desert slowly transform into the agricultural heart of California’s Central Valley and then into lush mountain forests. After nearly five months in the desert, the green was an absolute treat—fresh, vibrant, and very welcome.
We spent one night outside Las Vegas, which allowed for a much-needed supply run to Costco, Petco, and Target.
Another night was spent in the parking lot of a retro 1950s diner, and the last night we stayed in Fresno at a charming little park called Lindy’s Landing. Since our last dog was named Lindy, we felt obligated—and charmed.
When I booked Yosemite, I worried the park might be too popular, too crowded. Scoring a campsite inside the park felt like winning the lottery. And yes, the park was crowded—but for good reason. It’s jaw-droppingly spectacular. Sheer granite cliffs, thunderous waterfalls, ancient sequoias—every direction you look, Mother Earth is showing off. Our campsite even had a view of Half Dome, which glowed golden in the evenings like something straight out of a dream.
Yosemite is special to us for another reason, too. In 1984, I was between jobs and flew to California to visit my friend David. We’d been pals since 1979, but things took a romantic turn during his visit to Minnesota for his 10-year high school reunion (perfectly timed between Judy’s boyfriends). During my visit to California we took a road trip to Yosemite, and somewhere along those trails, Cupid clocked in for a double shift. So returning now, 41 years later, felt like closing a circle. As we hiked the steep trails, we laughed about how we had admired each other’s tushes as well as the scenery —the views may have changed, but are still pretty great. Ha!
Our first day in the park we biked the 11 miles of paved trails in Yosemite Valley, taking in the sweeping views and getting the lay of the land.
The next day Linda and Drevis arrived, and we hiked to Vernal Falls together.
On our one rainy day, we drove to the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias. The light snow on the way back gave the Tunnel View turnout an eerie, mystical beauty.
We also hiked to Lower Yosemite Falls and watched climbers ascending El Capitan. There are climbing rangers posted there to answer questions, and we learned that it can take climbers up to two weeks to summit. They bring all their food, haul gallons of water, and sleep in hammocks pinned to the sheer rock face. Just thinking about it gives me the willies. I can confidently say this will never make it onto my bucket list. I prefer sleeping in my RV, thank you very much.
We had wonderful meals, campfires, games, and so many laughs with Linda and Drevis. It did my heart good.
After Drevis and Linda left, David and I had two more days to explore. We biked to Mirror Lake—appropriately named.
On our last day, we tackled a more ambitious trail to Upper Yosemite Falls. I’m pretty sure this was the “tush hike” we both remembered from 1984. Our AllTrails app mentioned an “Oh My Gosh” viewpoint, but there was no official trail to it. David was determined to find it, so we bushwhacked our way along a faint spur path until—voilà—a hidden fenced overlook with an absolutely mind-blowing view of the falls from top to bottom. It was the only place we’d seen the full cascade. The drop was so steep and the access so sketchy, we figure the park must’ve decided it’s too dangerous to keep on the map. Maybe that’s wise. But I’m so glad David had the tenacity to track it down.
The day we were set to leave, the truck wouldn’t start—dead battery. Back in Shenandoah, the camper batteries died, and we jumped it with the truck. After that, we replaced the camper batteries. This time, the camper returned the favor and jumped the truck. We limped to a Costco on our way to Pinnacles National Park and bought new truck batteries. At this point, we should be fully powered in the 12-volt department for a good long while. When people on RV forums ask, “What’s one thing I should pack that I might not think of?” I always answer: jumper cables. We threw ours in at the last minute, and I’m so glad we did.
In the chaos of jumping the truck and getting packed, we also managed to drive off and leave our Starlink antenna behind. Oops. Now we’re four hours away at Pinnacles National Park, and David is driving back to get it (what a guy). I’m using the quiet time to clean the camper and catch up on the blog. We’ve now added “Retrieve Starlink” to our “Drive Away Checklist,” which mostly exists to document our goof-ups. Maybe, just maybe, by the end of the year we’ll stop making rookie mistakes.
But then again… maybe not.
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