We gathered up all our stuff and departed from Yosemite Lakes TT this morning. Departure didn’t take long because we cleaned up and packed most of our stuff yesterday. We also spent quite a bit of time checking out the dogs that were being walked by our RV space. The only drawback to our form of travel is that we miss our doggies who are hanging out with our kids back in San Diego.

The road from Yosemite Lakes back to the Central Valley of California initially climbs and descends a few times fluctuating between 3000′ and 5000′ above sea level. Once in Groveland, the road starts falling pretty substantially from around 4000′ to 3000′ until it reaches the top of the Priest Grade where the road drops from 3000′ to about 500′ in around 6 or 7 miles. It is a very serpentine and steep decline but, fortunately, our recently repaired trailer brakes worked perfectly, keeping my trousers dry and unsoiled.

From the bottom of the grade near Chinese Camp, we headed almost straight west on CA-120 until we reached Visalia where we turned on CA-99 for a long run north. We passed through Stockton and Sacramento with their dreadful traffic and labyrinthine routing but emerged only slightly shaken on the north side of the state capital. We continued another 20 miles or so up 99 until we reached the four or five buildings which constitute the town of Nicolaus. There we turned off and pulled into the Lake Minden Thousand Trails facility. We found a spot along the lake which really isn’t a lake but a small reservoir. There are quite a few birds and fishermen here. Unfortunately, there are no sewer hookups or WiFi so we will be on our way pretty soon.