July 24-25-26

Well maybe not so lucky, but holding my own!
Sierras
Into Yosemite
El Capitan!
From the road side.
Another view of the nice granite of Yosemite.
Poor me, I had to take a nap here!!!


I do apologize once again for combining posts, but things happen! When we last talked, I had sequestered myself in Lake Tahoe, at a semi-high roller suite for a couple of days. While I did not leave town on the plus side, the difference in my wallet from my arrival to my departure was only 3 dollars to the negative. While that may seem like a loss, I did stay in a room that normally is $495.00 per night, had 3 square meals a day, and during that time had a bottle of 1992 Opus 1 Cabernet. So all in all I came out a few grand ahead. (More on the gambling strategy later)

I left Tahoe on the 25th, and as I was departing the concierge invited me to stay for a few more days. I told her that I had to go, and was on my way through Yosemite and across "Death Valley"! While I was not a big winner from a personal point of view, I guess "Harrahs" thought that my "Play" was worthy of some attention. Originally, I was offered a couple of days at "Cesar's Palace", but due to a schedule change, and moving my arrival time up a day, I was given 3 days at the "Paris" Casino. I will be arriving there on Monday.

After leaving Tahoe, I rode through the Sierra Nevada range, and headed down through "Yosemite" national park. Spectacular in all forms of description! I stopped at the outfitter shop in Yosemite Village, and it was full of "total" hard core climbers from all over the world! Yosemite is the "Holy Grail" of climbing!

People there actually, know that the words given to high end technical clothing are for a reason. For Example, "Royal Robbins" was one of the first to climb "El Capitan", North Face clothing is named for the North face of Mt. Everest, etc, and on and on. I saw thousands of tourists today, sporting the most expensive clothing that one can imagine, but in the outfitters store in Yosemite, I saw a few hard core climbers who were worthy of wearing the "Brand (s)".

After leaving Yosemite, I headed south through the desert, and ended up in a town called "Bishop". It is very hot here, and I am on the cusp of the "Death Valley" national park. I plan to get up early in the morning and make my way across Death Valley and then be on my way to "Vegas".

Tim