Vegas to Yosemite, Part 1

In a bit of “careful what you wish for….”

We drove north out of Vegas and almost immediately into more desolate stretches of desert. After about two hours, we were ready — no more desert, please.

Next turn was onto a road to take us due west, but it was also the most deserted and frankly, fucking terrifying three-hour drive from the outskirts of Death Valley to the southern Sierra range. Here’s how desolate and deserted it was: We all had to pee and the next “service area” was 58 miles away. No worries, though. We could all pee on the side of the road. There was NOTHING as far as the eye could see in any direction, not a house, not a car, not a tree. NOTHING!

Except for Angel Ladies Brothel! I’d forgotten that brothels are legal in Nevada! We can neither endorse nor condemn, since we didn’t patronize.

After an hour or so, we started to climb into the mountains. Signs said 8% grades, up and down, mountains into canyons, and then back up into mountains. I was driving, sometimes no more than 20 miles an hour. I think in two hours, we might have seen 10 cars going in the other direction. We never had anyone behind us. Windy, twisty, narrow mountain roads, oh, and by the way, it was 100 and fuck degrees outside. I’ll admit it, I was nervous. The driving was ok, in fact, sort of fun for me. But, if you ever got a flat or had car trouble out there, you’d be fucked. We actually drove past a dead bear on the narrow shoulder.

I was really happy to finally, after 5 hours that seemed like 5 days, come to this intersection where we got on a much more traveled and flat “highway” that took us into the town of Bishop, CA.

A blue brewery in a red county

We found a local place to try a flight of their brews and have some delicious food.

Mountain Rambler Brewery looks like the best choice in the tiny town of Bishop. The picnic tables are for sharing, you order and pay at the register, and food runners bring your food and beer/wine to your table. Never wanting to assume, I nonetheless (encouraged by Dave) worked up the nerve to ask one of the managers if this establishment aligns with the “Blue Travelers” vibe. She pointed at the trans-inclusive rainbow flags displayed behind the register and said, “We’re in a red county, but we try our best.”

So, yay to Mountain Rambler Brewery! So glad we found them!

We’re gonna catch a night’s sleep and push on to Yosemite tomorrow. It’s about an hour to the entrance, the southeast one. We probaly won’t get to El Capitan, but I’m sure we’ll see some stuff!