Labor day had arrived!  We are doing the opposite of everyone else, we are going TO our destination.  We saw a steady stream of cars leaving the park.  Normally we will take highway 41 into the park since it is the most direct.  But I wanted a change.  The stretch from the south entrance to the valley floor is kind of a long haul and the last time we were there (not too long before) they were tearing it up and there was a lot of gravel.  Gravel and aluminum don't mix!  An alternative was the highway 120 entrance but we had also done that many times and it too was a long haul to the floor.

We took the alternative, highway 140.  We stopped and had lunch in Mariposa before continuing on.  Our son and his girlfriend were going to go to Yosemite for a drive and meet us at the campground for a bit.  They were ahead of us.  The one drawback to 140 is the slide bypass.  However reading up on it I realized that we could do it with no problems.  It was kind of fun too!

It seemed to take forever to get there and we wondered what happened to our son. We were in the line to enter the campground and we saw them coming OUT of the campground.  They turned around and followed us back.  We then setup the trailer.  Roxie wanted a picture of her and I in front of the trailer.  To give you some background here, Roxie had rotator cuff surgery one month prior to our trip.  She was still supposed to wear a sling but didn't want it on when the picture was taken.  Luckily a shot was taken with us by the trailer.  I am asking her is she is serious about taking off the sling.  Bottom line, this is my blog so I am posting this picture:

Aaron and Kellyn left.  We setup the lounge chairs and kicked back.  While resting the squirrels were all over the place.  One even jumped up on me!

We got dinner going and Roxie had me put out the tablecloth on the picnic table.  One camper (in a tent) came by and said it was fancy.  I think he was just jealous.

That evening we went to the ranger program and learned about mountain climbing of all types.  Interesting.

Time for bed.   ZZZZZ

We live about 3 hours from Yosemite but we don't go there as much as people would think we would.  We have never camped on the valley floor.  We took a road trip there in 2008 with our new hybrid.  We actually camped there later that year.  But this year it was on the floor.  I was really looking forward to it.  Plus it was about 5 months since we had taken out the trailer.

I got the reservations in the early spring.  I used the technique of checking for reservations every 10 minutes during a day.  When they showed up, I grabbed them!  Our first night, oddly, was Labor Day Monday.  I knew the campgrounds would be full but was hoping the park would be clearing out after the holiday weekend.

Time to get the trailer ready.  As you know in the previous post, I had replaced all the lights with LED's.  It is dry camping in Yosemite and 3 nights could be a bit of test for us.  We had gone 4 nights in Albuquerque last year and had to run the generator a bit to help out.  This was going to be a good test.

Another component of power usage is the propane heater in the trailer and the water pump.  We knew it would probably be a bit chilly at night so we did need some method heating.  I have always wanted to install a catalytic heater in the trailer but they are a bit pricey for the permanent models.  A catalytic burns propane, and therefore gives heat, without any power.  All you need is a spark via some piezoelectric generator.  So I got a catalytic heater, a portable one, Mr. Heater.  I almost bought one on our Albuquerque trip.

Now, what do I do about the water pump?  We need the water pump to run any of the water in our trailer.  Or do we?  One of the blogs that I read gave me a few tips recently.  We already knew about doing dishes in a bowl as Roxie used to tent camp with her family.  The water saving valve was a good idea, I thought.  I got one for my sink at home and I like it.  I know I am saving water.  However, Roxie did not like them in the trailer and I had to show her the 'override' function and she used it extensively.  So I don't think it helped that much.

However, the ONE tip that helped the most was the water jug used to 'flush' the toilet.  The normal flushing HAS to be the biggest user of water in the trailer.  By not running the pump all the time to flush we were able to use the campgrounds water to flush.  Brilliant idea!

I also washed the trailer AND truck before the trip.  This was unheard of!  We replaced a trailer tire for good measure.  We actually shopped for groceries BEFORE we left on a trip and were very ready.