South Knox and Mrs. Bubba's Western Road Trip

Greetings from Sonora

We stayed in Sonora last night after visiting Yosemite. Sonora is a cute little mining town, with some interesting looking bars and restaurants downtown (although some of the bars look pretty rough) and an art and photography gallery. There are bikers everywhere. I don't know if there's an organized event or if they just like to come to the area on weekends to ride the twisting mountain roads.

Right next door is Jamestown, where a huge banner saying "Gunfighters in Jamestown Tonight!" greets travelers. There is the Jimtown Frosty ice cream and hamburger joint, which seems popular with the bikers. Down the road is the Rawhide Saloon, with "cocktails, pool, and wet t-shirts". It, too, seems quite popular with the bikers.

This was our first trip to Yosemite. The drive in to the park was pretty, but it made us think we might be disappointed with the park as compared to Yellowstone or the Great Smoky Mountains. But once you get inside the park, it's like entering a different world. The huge granite formations and rivers and waterfalls and forests make for some incredible scenery. It's easy to see what inspired Ansel Adams. I noticed others following in his footsteps, with medium and large format cameras on tripods trying to capture some of the magic.

We may go back up there today, but alas it is time to point the trusty Bubbamobile eastward. We will probably stop over in Reno or Lake Tahoe tonight as we start the long journey home.

Here are some photos...