Bass Lake, Ca

It was hard to leave the Pacific coast and head inland but the time has come. We traveled through Salinas, "the salad bowl of America," where so much of our produce is grown. Then it was over the mountains through Pacheco Pass to again cross the San Joaquin Valley. As we neared the foothills of the Sierra Mountain range we stopped to investigate the fruit of some trees. Lo and behold! I do believe they were olives. We climbed into the Sierras and spent the night outside the SKP campground in Coarsegold since we couldn’t get the gate to open. It turned out to be just fine as it was peaceful and free.
We continued on to Oakhurst, the gateway to Yosemite but instead turned right to spend a night at the Bass Lake RV campground. It was packed with folks playing on the Bass Lake, a beautiful clear blue lake with beaches and lodging along the shores. We took a beautiful drive through the Sierra National Forest and stopped for a picnic. Soon we discovered Manzanita Lake where we paused to watch people catch recently stocked trout and to picnic. Such a scenic little lake as shown here.
We then went to the Chukchansi Casino and made a donation before driving into Oakhurst to enjoy the movie Hairspray. More photos.