If yesterday was “strange”, todays was frustrating, yet humbling.
So, if “Plan A” was to stay at Yosemite Half Dome Lodge for two nights then travel the 180-or so miles to Monterey, then its fair to say, that didn’t work out.
- Plan ‘B’: Drive over Tioga Pass, stay at Yosemite Half Dome Lodge for one night then travel the 180-or so miles to Monterey for an extra night
Result: Yosemite Closed - Plan ‘C’: Drive over Tioga Pass, through Yosemite and stay beyond the park for one night before travelling to Monterey
Result: Tioga Pass Closed - Plan ‘D’: Drive over the Sonora Pass (Highway 108) and stay beyond the park for one night before travelling to Monterey
Result: Sonora Pass Closed - Plan ‘E’: Drive over the Sonora Pass (Highway 108) and stay in Monterey for an extra two nights
Result: Sonora Pass Closed
So we went with Plan ‘F’. And what a crappy plan that was. With no other choice left, 8 1/2 hours and around 375 miles of driving later, we arrived at the Hyatt Recency Resort in Monterey. I am knackered.
I woke in time to subscribe to a free 7-say trial of ESPN+, which happened to be showing the Charity Shield game between Chelsea and Man City. Once we had picked up the silverware (2-0, Aguero for both), Jane and Charlie were up and about.
Although we got up at a half reasonable time, it was only to realise we were all feeling a touch of altitude sickness, something Jane and I experienced before.
Charlie however wasn’t expecting this and his light-headedness and queasiness meant he thought he needed to chunder. This led to a delay in (another very basic) breakfast and checking out.
We filled up with more exorbitantly priced fuel, to the tune of $100 for just less than a tank full, at exactly 10am, according to our receipt. When we set off, we were still on for Plan ‘E’ & the Sonora Pass.
As we drove up the 395 out of a still very hazy and smokey Mammoth, we wanted to quickly call in at Mono Lake, to show Charlie this massive, weird expanse of high-saline water, that has towers of salt growing out of it.
It also has a ridiculous amount of flies that gather in huge swarms on the ground, and when they move, they create their own black/grey cloud.
Just as we turned off to park at Mono, there was a Matrix sign above the road that read:
120 – Closed
108 – Closed
Seek travel advice
We know about 120, the Tioga. We didn’t know about 108, the Sonora Pass. Our hearts sank. We had got our heads around a 6 1/2 hour day, broken by a stop at the Goldrush Town of Columbia. What the hell does this mean to our journey, we wondered?
Google, TomTom and Waze concurred, and suggested that our only option of getting to Monterey at anything like a reasonable time tonight was to go over the Carson Pass, further north, and settle for an additional 2 hours in the car.
So from the 395, we took a dubious-looking left onto Highway 89, the Robert M Jackson Memorial Highway & then Highway 88, through the Carson Pass and El Dorado Forest.
As the driver, this was spectacular, but not appreciated. There are very steep inclines, descents, twists, turns and switchbacks, combined with narrow roads, and wide oncoming traffic. By the time we came out onto “normal” roads my eyes were popping out.
At just over half way, we stopped at the Subway in Lockeford, (opposite the Curl Up and Dye hair salon) on Main Street, and got a late “lunch”. To be honest the rest of the journey was uneventful and, as per yesterday, somewhat dull. Through Jackson, in to and then out of Stockton. Then the I5 down to Monterey, and our first glimpse of the Pacific.
It may have been uneventful and dull, but what was incredible, and humbling is that..well, hang on, let me give some scale first.
Imaging a clock face that is as wide as England from Lake District to Northumberland. Now imaging driving from the 3 o’clock position, around the edge of the clock face, anticlockwise. Continue around the clock face to around 7 o’clock. That’s our journey today.
But now think of this, the centre of the clock is where the fires are focused. Something in the region of approximately 80+ miles to our left throughout our drive. And here’s the humbling bit – with the exception of the last 30/40 miles, we were never out of sight of the smoke. From Manchester, up through the whole of the better parts of England (I’m biased), to, say, Whitehaven and across to Sunderland, for example, would be smoke-affected.
As I write this, the Ferguson fire has burned 89,633 acres and taken the lives of two of the 2,500+ Firefighters, working to contain this monster. And this isn’t the only, or even the worst. There is a huge fire raging (140+mph “fire tornados”) in Redding, to the north of San Francisco.
In fact, this morning at breakfast in Mammoth, we were sat opposite to lady hikers, who were camped up near the summit last night until 11pm, when they were overcome with ash and smoke, and ended up packing camp, and descending in the dark, to book in to the hotel. They were exhausted. And very lucky.
The scale and ferocity of these fires in hard to contextualise. But the bravery and hard work being carried out by the Firefighters isn’t.
So, despite being knackered and feeling we just wasted two valuable days holiday, I’m not going to dwell on our minor inconvenience.
Because of how we’ve ended up here, we have three separate room bookings at three separate rates and room types. On arriving and checking-in with Robert S, I explained as much to him, the reasons behind it, and how it would be really great if we could have one room for the three nights, rather than have to keep decamping.
His first move was to take us to the lounge, settle us on nice chairs and tell the bar staff to look after us, “no charge”. He worked through the bookings and came back with three alternatives, the best one being a larger room, ground floor, with patio, overlooking the pool and games area, and with additional complementary breakfasts, which here are a few bob each per day ($20-30/head). I don’t care if that meant there was enough “fat” in our booking to cover that anyway, but even if it did, the way in which we have been treated, has been exceptional.
The room is fantastic, the facilities are well and truly top of the line (and you may be aware, through my job, I’ve been front of house and back of house at many, many very nice hotels, along with some not-so-nice ones as well).
A beer ( very dark Amber, that was full-on molasses!), a phenomenally good clam chowder and some ludicrously hot chilli nachos later, and we’re back at the room, crashing out for the night!
I think we need a relaxing day tomorrow! With very little driving!
Night, all!