We arrived at Mammoth Lakes on Sunday and made plans to visit Yosemite on Tuesday. The concierge thought it would be a good time to visit since it was midweek and public schools are back in session.

It was a beautiful drive to the park, but once we got down in Yosemite valley there was quite a bit of smoke, so much that I only took one photo down there, with my iPhone, of the falls.

kc and John Michael were going to go off on a bike ride that the rangers assured them was well mapped and fun. That’s when I discovered my kneel-scooter had a flat tire. Oh, did I mention it was hot and humid? So, as the crowds began to grow to Disney-like proportions, I insisted kc and John Michael take-off and I pushed to scooter to a bike rental location, certain they would have a mechanic and supplies – nope. There were two college kids who never worked on a bike, but who would sell me a patch kit and let me use tools in a cardboard box. Long story, shortened, I fixed the tire and injured my foot, perhaps in a new way.

I tried to intercept kc and John Michael what was supposed to be the return path, but after a few hours gave up and went back to the truck. They got back an hour later and said they had gotten lost, the signage was non-existent and ended up having ridden about 15 miles.

We tried to see a few more things in the valley until we were so irritated with it all that we headed-out. The eastern and high regions of the park were much less crowded, cooler and less smoky and we stopped along the way to relax and have a bit of fun.