Have moved this post to the top even though the photos and events occurred on Good Friday, 22 Apr. All of these photos were taken along either the county or state routes from Madera to Raymond or from Raymond to Coarsegold.
Click 1 or 2 times to zoom in on snow-caps in the distance.
After shopping at the Oakhurst Vons, which has no WiFi and is owned by Safeway, I moved to the McDonalds parking lot to handle my e-mail. Then I drove roughly across the street, SR41, and went to the library just before it closed. They were shutting down their workstations and, like many counties in the San Joaquin Valley, have no WiFi.
Incidentally, I've found that most Safeway & Vons stores built in 2007 or later have WiFi even thought the Safeway Store Locator may not list it. [For instance, the Sonora Safeway has WiFi.] Because of that, it's best to ask one of the baggers or checkers if the store has WiFi. And even if the store has an in-house Starbucks, it may not have WiFi if it's more than 5 yrs old.
After leaving the Oakhurst Library I headed for Bass Lake, which is only 8 miles further; staying to the left I drove down the east side of Bass Lake on Road 274. Turned out the Bass Lake RV Resort is almost exactly opposite Beashore Mdw Rd, which I've used since the late 60s. One of the fellows in the office greeted me as "Santa Claus." [Told him I was early this year.]
When he saw the size of my rig, a truck camper on a 3/4 ton pickup, he said he thought I could squeeze into a tent site. When I asked the price, I thought he had said 50, but he said it was $60. Told him that was too much and that I'd stay in a US Forest Service CG -- provided I could find one which was open. As I walked out he warned me about drug dealers in USFS campgrounds.
I drove back to the sheriff's sub-station near the intersection or Roads 222 & 274 and ate lunch in my camper. While eating I thought I should go inside and report an attempted "Highway Robbery," but since it was Good Friday & the Bass Lake RV Resort was nearly full, prices are whatever the traffic will bear.
I also looked at my guidebooks while eating and discovered that most Yosemite campgrounds did not open until May -- after a normal winter; it will be later this year. Concluded I shud stick to "The Golden Highway," SR49, which runs through the heart of the Mother Lode. After lunch, I drove back to Oakhurst for 10 gallons of that precious sustance called gasoline & headed north past the Vons store on SR 49.
As I got near Mariposa I was surprised to see a sign which said Fairgounds RV; checked it out & found that not only can you get limited hookups, elec & water in all but 2 sites in grassy Lots 1 & 2, but they had WiFi. And it turned out to be a pleasant surprise: rock-solid with high speed. And when there was a slight dimming of the lights, the router re-booted & was back on the air within a couple of minutes.
While not as low-priced as some other Fairground RV parks (eg., the Tuolumne Fairgrounds in Sonora), at $25/night from Oct - Apr and $30 from May to Sep, it seems reasonbly-priced. [Good Friday was indeed a good Friday!]
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Links
- Brief Wikipedia article on Mariposa
- Excellent review of the history Central California Counties near Mariposa County
Su 24 Apr Actual Route: Mariposa County Fairgrounds
M 25 Apr Actual Route: Mariposa - Bear Valley - Bagby Rec Area (Lake McClure)
T 26 Apr Actual Route: Bagby Rec Area - Coulterville - LaGrange - Waterford - Modesto Reservoir CG
W 26 Apr Route: Modesto Reservoir - Waterford - Oakdale - Woodward Reservoir CG
