Hi all,
This trip was 99% me. I did most of the driving and if there is anything I hate, it is driving on mountains. The one-lane roads make you feel pressured when someone is behind you. The windy roads forced you to drive like a snail, even though you want to hurry up and get through that long road. At every turn, you hope for a railing; if you were lucky to see a railing, you hope it would be at least higher than 1 foot.
Yosemite has 4 park entrances. 3 are on the west side and 1 on the east side. We came in from route 120, which is straight west (the middle entrance of the 3 west gates). It was so windy, but it was also very beautiful. Around each bend, you slow down and see a wide panoramic view of mountain ranges. I think coming in it was great novelty ride. However, I would not want to put up with that path every day.
On the way to the lodge, we took route 140 ( the south route of the 3 west gates). It was so much better. With so many more straight roads, you could easily speed until you hit a bend. We actually took that route back to San Francisco. Although more safe, it was less scenic. We drove through so much farmland.
Take whatever route you feel comfortable with. Had we known, we would have taken the 140 route into the park. None of my family likes driving through mountains, so better safe than sorry. Be safe, pull over on those turn stops and go take a picture of Mother Nature.
Ciao,
Amy
amy 