Rain was predicted for thursday, so we didn’t plan on anything substantial. We’d hoped to see the Giant Sequoia’s for which Yosemite is famous though unfortunately, Mariposa Grove – home to Grizzly Giant, a tree thought to be more than 2000 years old – was closed for a renovation project until Spring 2017.
We settled on Merced Grove, a quick out-and-back 1.5 miles with 500 foot elevation change to the Grove. Again, customary for Yosemite – the 10-12 miles to the parking area took nearly an hour by car – never so simple. No need to pack any food, this was truly a walk in the park. And fortunately for us, we were out early, in the Grove by 10am, and back in the car by 11 – just as the rain really began to come down.
Big trees and some amazingly beautiful country!
Friday – San Francisco
Friday was a travel day, departing from Yosemite and heading westward to San Francisco. Of course, that meant travel (again) through the park, retracing our steps from the day before to pass the Merced Grove trailhead and heading westward from there through some (very) small towns, gradually re-entering civilization (and traffic)!
Dropping our gear at our hotel, we returned the car and hopped on the BART into downtown San Francisco to do a bit of exploring. Getting off at Embarcadero Center, we followed the waterfront to Fisherman’s Wharf, doing our best interpretation of tourists. A wonderfully sunny afternoon, we grabbed an afternoon nibble in one of the many street-side bistros and doing a bit of research for our dinner spot, eventually settling on Hog Island Oyster Bar – as it happens, a very popular spot. We shunned the opportunity for Wellfleet oysters (we didn’t travel across the country just to get local oysters!) – instead settling on some local oysters and chowder.
A sweet end to a wonderful vacation.
