Western Scenic Tour, Day 5!

Day 5

The day began with breakfast on our own.  We returned to the Grill next to Dow Villa, and shared breakfast with some of our great travellers.  Let me take this opportunity to say that the participants on this tour are just wonderful.  Doug always says that car people are good people, and this group solidifies that.  These Western Scenic Tour people ARE good people.  

We hit the road for Bishop and an impromptu stop at Schat’s Bakery.  The Schat family started its long line of bakers in Utrecht Holland in 1893.  In 1950, Jacob Schat Jr. came to Ellis Island and on to California.  He was 17 years old.  He joined the U.S. Army a year later and in 1958, was able to sponsor his father, Jack Schat Sr., his mother, Kine, and three of his five siblings to the United States.  Today, the Schat family makes over 35,000 loaves per day for all of their locations, one of which is in Bishop!

After we got our sweet tooth fix, we were back on the road with a destination of Mobil’s Whoa Nellie Deli.  Oh, my what a lunch!  I had a delicious plate of fish tacos with a fresh mango salsa.  At a gas station?!  Yes, at a gas station.  Gourmet magazine observed, “For all its awesome scenery, the Yosemite Valley used to a be a culinary wasteland.  Now, hikers can hoof it to the national park’s east entrance for lobster taquitos and pan-seared ahi salad.”  We sat on the lawn at picnic tables over-looking Mono Lake.  The lake was low, but the company, food, and ambiance were all we needed for an incredible lunch.

After lunch, we headed into Yosemite!  Some information about Yosemite:  About 1 million years ago, snow and ice accumulated, forming glaciers at the higher alpine meadows that moved down the river valleys. Ice thickness in Yosemite Valley may have reached 4,000 feet during the early glacial episode. The downslope movement of the ice masses cut and sculpted the U-shaped valley that attracts so many visitors to its scenic vistas today.  Yosemite is 747,956 acres, so we had some exploring to do!  Unfortunately, the fires in Yosemite had created a fog of smoke at this entrance.  After stopping at the visitor’s center, we were on our own to explore.  We drove further into the park, and the smoke cleared as we entered the valley.  Some people went to see the incredible sights of the park such as El Capitan and Half Dome.  We drove in from the east entrance and exited from the south entrance.

We headed to the Best Western Clovis Cole for our next night.  We had dinner at Diciccio’s Italian restaurant across the street from the hotel, and it was delicious!  Some of our participants got held up in Yosemite.  Can you blame them!  With 747,956 acres to explore, we could have spent another day there!  After a long day, we dragged ourselves to the nightly meeting (well, I didn’t as I was calling in our lunch order for tomorrow’s picnic!).  The group had individually signed a tour t-shirt and presented it to Doug.  How special!  It will be treasured for forever.  The poker run was completed, and Papa Duane was our big winner!  Congratulations to Duane!

Off to bed!