Yosemite National Park, made famous by Yosemite Sam, is yet another great natural attraction in USA. Spectacular scenery and some great hiking is on offer. Dam cold though! We packed our cold weather gear deep into the bowels of the van once we entered sunny California, thinking we’d not need them for the rest of the trip. We were wrong. It was well below zero at the elevations around Yosemite.

The carpark at the main visitor centre is massive. Took us 15 minutes to walk from the car to the visitor centre, slipping and sliding over the icy ground. Yosemite is one of the most visited parks in USA and there’s plenty of shops, resorts and varied accommodation options. We drove around checking out the main central attractions and then camped in the van, enduring a pretty cold night. Next morning we got up early and did a big several hour hike up to Vernal Falls and back. It was one of the most roughest, toughest, root’nest, toot’nest hikes we’ve ever done. Then we hit the road back towards the California coast.