Yosemite in 24 hours

While visiting family in California my friend Nancy and I decided to take a quick trip up to Yosemite. We rented two bikes from
Dubbelju Motorcycle Rental in San Francisco. It was a great experience over all. We got our bikes (I went on the Harley
Davidson Sporsters while Nancy optioned for the Honda Shadow) and soon were off on our way.

The two/three hour trip to Yosemite was flat, boring, and super hot!

The California heat was wreaking havoc on us. Luckily I had a cool new back pack with a water pouch that I could access while driving!

Nancy was not so lucky, but ahead looked like nicer weather.

As soon as we reached the base of the mountains the weather cooled. It looked like a storm was gathering, and we were looking forward to some cool winds and rain.

We filled up our tanks as my tank was super small! Had to fill it every hour. But gas is the one thing in the states that is not expensive!

Across from the gas station was an interesting looking piece of property. Something I thought looked very American, so I snapped a pic for my foreign friends.

We make it to the base of the mountains and start looking for our hostel. We get a little lost on the way but get to try some off road riding on the bikes.
Not something recommended

Finally we find make it to Yosemite bug Hostel, which was not only a hostel but had cabins as well as a spa and sauna!
They were very friendly and even let us park our bikes close to the dorm rooms.

I am pretty tired, so Nancy and I decide to spend the evening planning our Istanbul trip for September as well as other trips.

We head to bed early (9pm) so we can get up early the next day to explore Yosemite before I have to head back. We get up at 5:40am and are soon off!

The road to the park was amazing! Twisty, well paved, and because it was so early almost empty!

Our first stop is before we make it to the park. There was a sign so I stopped to see what was there and to have a quick breakfast.

The gorgeous river.

We continue on our way. We reach the park but do not have to pay as to early for the park rangers. We will pay on our way out. A few minutes into the park
and there is already an amazing water fall!

Yosemite Valley was breath taking, especially with the morning sun breaking through the mountains.

After a few minutes in the Valley we head up the mountains. The roads again are perfect, as well as the views. Unfortunately I couldn't stop and
photograph everything as my time was running out. We were able to stop here and there, such as at this old burnt forest.

Both of us got out here to take pictures. Here is the devil (Nancy) photographing in the boulders we climbed up on.

The weather, trees and road was perfect for not only riding but for photography as well.

The view up on the mountain range was simply sublime.

May was the perfect time to go. Not too hot, obviously, as the snow was not completely melted yet on this road.

Our last stop was a breath taking lake we drove by.

Yosemite was beautiful. Unfortunately I couldn't stay longer. So before finishing the road we turned around and at Groveland parted ways. Nancy
was staying in the park and I need to book it back to San Francisco to return the rental! 7 hours total of straight driving and only a tiny bit late.
It was a great trip!

Road to Albania - the way home - Bosnia and Croatia

We wake up early in the morning and quickly pack our things. We stop once more by the
restaurant where we drank the night before to have a quick breakfast. It is a bit too salty for all
of us but we eat up and head out on our way. Soon we reach Bosnia and it is a gorgeous day.

We are following a GPS which takes us on a little detour. We end up crusing around Bosnia more than we planned, but we see some abandonned buildings
and some old land mines!

As we past one city we see a bunch of old stones. I decide to stop and check it out. So glad I did! Turns out it is an ancient cemetery from Roman times!

After taking a few pictures we stop at a water hole for some swimming and fishing. No success with the fishing, but the swimming was great!

We don't stay long as we would like to reach Croatia before night fall. We make it, find a little appartment to stay at in the town of Gradac, and have time to walk the beach at sunset.

In the morning we get a much better view of this costal village.

For the next 3 days we enjoy time at the beach...

drinks...

and watching turtles have sex!

Unfortunately we have to head home home eventually.

We make it to Split at night before getting back on the train and heading to Prague.

All in all it was an amazing vacation! I can't wait to find out what adventures our next trip will bring!

Road to Albania - day 8 - Kosovo to Montenegro

We slowly wake up as the sun starts to shine on us and our motorcycles. The hotel staff was nice enough to let us crash outside of their hotel for free!

We order some breakfast and coffee and then slowly pack up our belongings to head back out to the open road.

As we wonder through Kosovo we try to find our way to the border of Montenegro. We decide we will head to Kolasin and get a better map and then decide from there. We enter the city in our GPS and let it take over. After about 20 minutes on one dirt road we reach a bit of a problem: rocks and holes made from grenades blocking the road... for cars at least!

Radek goes to check it out...

And as Radek and Mrazik decide what to do I take some pictures of the gorgeous view.

We notice a sign stating that we are leaving Kosovo... but nothing about not crossing the border.

After thinking about it some more, we decide to go for it. The GPS did say it was ok! We take the motorcycles easily past the "blockade" and head up into Montenegro. It was worth it, the view we got on this dirt road was spectacular!

At the top of the hill there was a memorial site, we figured it was for some war but were not sure which one.

And the other side of the mountain was just as beautiful!

There was also what looked like an old bunker. I personally wanted to go exploring inside but was persuaded by others in the party to not even think about it.

We head back down the mountain, seeing farmers here and there. Soon the road turns to asphalt, and when we have to stop due to a bee in someone's helmet I take some more pictures.

We reach Kolasin and get some food and find a map. We decide to head on even though it is raining. Luckily it didn't rain much and soon the clouds started to break up.

From the highway we were on you could see a nice view of some of the cities below, getting a real feel for how high up we were!

And I pause for a beauty shot.

Soon the highway starts to become smaller and has less and less traffic. When I see goats in the road I realize we are no longer on a highway.

We head to Savnik getting a bit lost. We end up in a residential area where the children were very interested in our motorcycles.

Deciding to go a bit further, we eventually find a pub for dinner. A man there says that we can sleep in his garden with our tents. I go to bed early, being a bit sick. When Radek and Mrazik make it later, Radek wakes me up to show me the stars. A most amazing site, as we are away from the city and there is no moon in the sky the stars are shinning brightly. Another great day on our adventure!