Excursion Enthusiast: Yosemite to Big Bear Lake

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time at Yosemite and will return in the spring when the falls are full. A few last looks at Tunnel View early this morning. You can see the difference once the sun pops over the mountains and hits the rock face.

We stopped at the south end of Yosemite to eat breakfast at Wowana Hotel - a group of cottages for lodging near Mariposa Grove. Breakfast was very good and the hotel is charming. There are huge sequoia trees in Mariposa Grove but we didn’t do the 4 mile round trip hike to see them - maybe next time.

We drove across the Mojave Desert to Big Bear Lake and there’s a lot of dirt, windmills and trains.

We stopped at the Mojave Air and Space Port, much to Jeff’s delight, and checked out the planes stored there and had lunch at The Voyager Restaurant. It was a neat little find right off the highway we were on!

This guy designed and flew The Voyager around the world.

We also made a quick stop at Edwards AFB and checked out the B52 on display there. It was the NB-52B flown by NASA and used as a airborne platform to launch test aircraft.

All the planes that were launched from this plane.

The B52 is “launching” the X15 into flight

We arrived at our lodging for the next 4 days. We are taking a rest stop til Sunday to do laundry, visit family here in CA and rest a bit. We’ve been traveling for two full weeks and have a little over two to go so this is the perfect time for a break. We are at our Bluegreen timeshare here and it is amazing- beautiful and so much room. We’re gonna enjoy our time here!