i was in the Valley floor last week and noticed they no longer have a bus lane?? last time i was there, you couldn't use the right lane. was that seasonal or did they flat out do away with it? i hope they did away with it because it was IMO ridiculous! the left lane was backed up forever.
i went on a wednesday with out of state family thinking the crowds would be minimal, but it was the WORST i have ever seen it all the many years i've gone there!!! you couldn't find a parking spot for the life of you.
i asked a ranger if there was something special going on and they said no, they couldn't figure out why it was so busy either (they were expecting a slow day). our plans were to buy lunch at the hamburger place by the main grocery store, but you couldn't find a place to park... we drove around and around for like 20 minutes and gave up. lol good thing my wife and i had a back up plan and brought enough food in an ice chest to save the day. lol
and... i was all excited to use my really good / powerful spotting scope to show family, the climbers on El Capitan, and there was only one person. lol (strike 2). then, to beat all, my tripod for my spotting scope broke (strike 3 lol). back to the binoculars.
ended up at the river and played in the water (everyone had a great time doing that).