We were riding through Los Banos when I saw some flashing lights in my rear view mirror and then a siren sounded. Yep, the local police had pulled us over. I was surprised as I was sure I wasn't speeding - I know how strictly speed is enforced within town limits (whereas on the freeway/interstate highways there is a lot more leniency). It turned out we were pulled over because our registration plate was not recognised. I explained we were from New Zealand and was asked to produce the necessary documentation, letter authorising the importation of the bike, drivers license and insurance card for riding in the USA. The cop was very pleasant and in the end felt a bit sorry for us standing there in riding gear in the blazing heat (107 fahrenheit/42 celsius) and sent us on our way.
We turned on to hwy 59 and headed through Merced before joining up with Hwy 140 that took us to our stop for the day at Mariposa. Mariposa is an old gold town that now survives off all things tourism related to Yosemite National Park. We checked in to the motel, dropped our luggage in the room and grabbed a bite to eat in the town before continuing up the road to the entrance of Yosemite National Park.
Yosemite is a national park that we wanted to visit on our last tour, but we ended up taking the coastal route down California, so we have made up for it this tour! The park covers over 3000 sq km and contains some of the worlds most beautiful mountain terrain, huge cliffs, canyons, forest and waterfalls. From a motorcyclists point of view just getting there was fun. After leaving Mariposa, we had around 70kms of twisting, curving road to get there - which was a treat after the long flat stretches of road we had traveled since leaving Carmel. It was a great feeling to lean the bike over and sweep round some bends.
The Western entrance to Yosemite is in a valley - and it was stinking hot! Even with the roads lined with trees and shade - it was still 98 degrees fahrenheit (37 celsius). After paying our entry fee we stopped and took off our riding jackets and cruised around on the harley in T shirts. There were tourists everywhere and traffic was slow in the park. You have to watch for black bears and deer on the roads - but it was too hot for much wildlife to be out. The animals had more sense than the humans! In saying that, the views were spectacular and the park was well worth the visit.
After cruising around the valley and stopping to take scores of photos, we made our way back to Mariposa for the night.
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