And you all are going to now go live together in tight spaces. Tee-hee. I hope you guys get along the whole time!

Oh, we won't. But it will be fun none the less. :)

Don't forget your snow shoes.

Well, if there's snow and a limited number of chains available, we may have to go all Donner Party to survive - Or how about Survivor Yosemite?

Shouldn't be a problem, because we're bringing spiked tire chains that I made myself out of barbed wire that was easier to get, since I had some conveniently left over from my last modern macrame project.

I'm still stressing over where to find a large grill that will double as a plow though. We might have to go the cheap route and have Ken sit on the hood with a shovel.

Alex is just sabotaging things since he is jealous.

He can still come sleep on the front porch.:D

I would most definitely follow this advice. No matter what highway is recommended by the internet, it does take the experience of someone who has travelled the route. {that is why I suggested doing the Mapquest and then ask on here...some routes are listed that aren't open year round or that just aren't safe}

These directions, if I could remember the Hwy #'s, is what I would have thought. The other ways, windy, opt to rockslides, etc.

You don't only want the quickest route, but, the most safe route. Along this route, you will find stores, etc. Just keep your eyes open, they probably won't be as frequent as here at home.

Oh, and, the road mentioned, from what I've experienced, is one that is kept clear most. Probably as it gets the most traffic?

Hey, all I was trying to do was provide some factual underpinnings to the various route options in an attempt to short circuit any arguments based on which route is 400 feet shorter than another or has 4 more taco trucks along the way. And mostly it pointed out that iSm was wrong that the SIL route was horribly worse than his and that it is actually technically a little bit shorter.

All things being equal I gave my aesthetic preference (and it is generally easier on the car and easier on any motion sick-prone passengers, which is why I prefer 140 with Lani even when the other routes are completely fine). But all things probably won't be equal. That said if the climb out of the valley is something to be avoided then that may be an issue since it sounds like it will be done several times over the course of the weekend.

If I were actually going, though, I wouldn't do even as much work as I did above. I'd go, and if I got to a point I couldn't go any farther I'd turn around and try another way until I got there. And if I never got there I'd have had fun trying. Some day I'll be that stupid tourist that gets lost on a back country road and dies of exposure 400 feet from a town hidden behind a hillock.

Alex, you crack me up. I have felt that way often {the lost tourist} trying to cut corners between Yosemite and Monterey....

You might be the only male I've ever heard say he wouldn't mind, more or less, not knowing exactly where he is going.