The overcast skies made our decision to leave much easier. It was obvious that the only possibility for good images today would be at sunset... if we had any chance at all. We navigated the icy sidewalks and packed up Ruby for the trip south.
The river canyon of the Merced River was emerald green from all the recent rain. The color was so rich and saturated it looked fake. The canyon hillsides were carpeted with lush grasses and bushes, while mosses covered the north-facing, canyon walls. Highway 140 through the Sierra foothills is always a good drive, but in the early spring it's gorgeous.
We stopped for lunch in Mariposa at the Sugar Pine Cafe, an old-fashioned cafe with good food and friendly service. When we entered, two of the regulars told us the good food was worth the wait and made suggestions on what to order. They were right. Our lunch was one of the best meals of our trip.
Shortly after we left Mariposa, we dropped out of the foothills and entered the Central Valley. We turned south on Highway 99 at Merced and cruised south to our favorite Best Western in Tulare. We were both glad we hadn't planned to drive all the way home in one day. Two hours through beautiful canyons and foothills followed by two easy hours glimpsing the snow-covered Sierras to the east was the perfect drive for today. We'll deal with the tedium of 6 hours on freeways to get home tomorrow.
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