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For cheap entertainment, a night of sitting around a campfire throwing back a few beers is pretty much a perfect night and a highlight of many a roadtrip for me. There are a lot of places in this part of the country to camp - although sights specifically within a national park like Yosemite can be more limited and reservations could be a good idea.

What sounds like pure hell, would be trying to "sleep" with 5 people packed into a minivan. Aside from the limited number of places where you can legally park, there's just no way that any of you would really get any sleep, and without getting any sleep you won't have much fun. (btw, just so you are aware, drinking in a parked car - even if you don't plan to drive anywhere else for the night - can still fall under drunk driving laws in some cases. For example, simply having the keys in the ignition with the radio on can be considered "operating" the vehicle) This really is a case where you couldn't possibly save enough money for trying it to be worthwhile.