Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and San Francisco

First a note.... I have been hearing that my pictures are inaccessible. I apologize, especially since I have been trying to be good about posting them. I am not sure what the problem is, so let me know so I can try to fix it. I am using Picasa web albums that works in conjunction with Google, so if you have an account with Google, you can probably sign in that way, if that is the issue.

So now for our day....
The Mini had quite a workout today as it huffed and puffed up and down a couple thousand feet with all of our junk in the back, so I am happy to report that it made it to San Fran and is taking a break in a parking lot until Tuesday. We decided to leave Reno early to take a detour to Lake Tahoe, and Yosemite National Park before we headed to San Fran (since we had the time, and we were close). First we had to drive up Mount Rose to get to Lake Tahoe, a mountain used mostly for skiing but was absolutely beautiful as we drove to the top. We were so high (over 9,000 feet) that it was actually a full 20 degrees cooler when we got out of the car to take pictures.
Once down the mountain we encountered Lake Tahoe, which is an amazingly clear, blue body of water. The surrounding nature even reminded me of the Maine landscape. After saying goodbye to Lake Tahoe we drove over to Yosemite National Park and went up again to about 8,000 feet. The park was beautiful and mountainous, with waterfalls, and even bear crossings. It's difficult to put into words what it was like - you just have to visit and see for yourself.
On the way out of Yosemite, we had to go down a treacherous, windy road on the downhill - one of those roads where, if you sneezed, you go flying off the side. This became a running joke during the day of windy, hilly roads. Needless to say it was not pleasant, but we obviously (and fortunately) made it out alive and intact (including the car, as I mentioned above).
Then it was on to San Fran through central California. We arrived at our hostel in time to make it to the Golden Gate Bridge for sunset, though pictures only had one or the other (the bridge and the sunset together was difficult from where we were at). Nevertheless, it was awe-inspiring, not just the sight itself but for the fact that we have reached the West Coast in a car. I still cannot believe that we are here already after so much anticipation.
So far I love the city and I wish we had more time here. The few people we have encountered have been really nice, such as the bus driver who told us we were going the wrong way, told us where to go and subsequently opened the door for us to get off - I have not seen many bus drivers do that in either Boston or D.C. I am really looking forward to tomorrow, especially since we get to spend a whole day in one place without hopping in the car the next day.