YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
Ron and I have been talking about a trip to Yosemite since last fall. In January, we decided to commit to a visit this year. We chose to visit the week before Memorial Day weekend in May for the following reasons:
1) We'd be ahead of the summer crowds.
2) There would be water in the waterfalls.
3) We'd be back home in time for fire season here.
PART I: ALLEGORY
(noun- figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another)
Friday: We boarded the dogs at their favorite kennel, under new ownership and now named "Hanging With Friends",
and started our drive to Yosemite. We made good time, and decided to change drivers an hour or so after crossing in to CA. There's a whole lotta nuthin' west of Kingman, so we pulled over in Ludlow, which consisted of a Dairy Queen, a gas station, and what may have been a motel. We'd been in our cocoon of air-conditioning for several hours, so opening the car door to 100+ degree heat was like stepping into
Here's what Ludlow really looked like:
Yep, that's it. We were terrible customers. Used their facilities, ate our packed lunch at their picnic table, and left without buying anything. None too soon, either.
We chose a route that took us on the east side of the Sierra Nevadas, with a plan to drive across the park from east to west on the single main road. We turned north toward Bishop on US395, and I discovered a whole new meaning to desolate landscape. Having lived for years in the west, I thought I had an eye for western landscapes. This was outside my experience. Hot, dry, depressing, miles of alkali flats, more nothing than I've ever seen. That we weren't far from Death Valley made perfect sense.
However, as we continued north, this scene out the windshield gave us hope:
We chose a route that took us on the east side of the Sierra Nevadas, with a plan to drive across the park from east to west on the single main road. We turned north toward Bishop on US395, and I discovered a whole new meaning to desolate landscape. Having lived for years in the west, I thought I had an eye for western landscapes. This was outside my experience. Hot, dry, depressing, miles of alkali flats, more nothing than I've ever seen. That we weren't far from Death Valley made perfect sense.
However, as we continued north, this scene out the windshield gave us hope:
Soon we realized we were making an allegorical journey, because we left behind the hellish bleakness and made our way to:
aka: The Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.
It just kept getting better
and better.
aka: The Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.
It just kept getting better
and better.
We couldn't stop pulling off the road to take pictures of the mountains and the sky.
After a long day's drive, we arrived at our choice of accomodations for the night:
This was a delightful campground. Not too many campers yet, and a creek with running water.
It's a never ending source of delight to Arizonans to see waterways with water in them!
We'd read numerous warnings that we'd be in bear country. This campground left no doubt:
We were relieved when we talked to the campground host who told us he'd never seen a bear in the 10 years he'd been there.
PART II: TRANSCENDENCE
(adj- exceeding or surpassing in degree or excellence)
Saturday: We drove about an hour to get to the turnoff on Tioga Road, which would take us across the park. This was the start of five days of non-stop wonderment, amazement, awe, and unbelievable landscapes. The scenery was non-stop.
We turned onto Tioga Road and to our astonishment, our astonishment increased.
We knew we really were in heaven when we (once again) pulled off the road to take this picutre:
I'm not lyin', all this is free for the looking! And yes, that's ice on the lake.
Wait, one more:
Because Yosemite has been a national park since 1864 (thanks to President Lincoln), there's a certain familiarity with many of the landmarks. Paintings, photographs, TV specials, movies, etc, feature the stunning views. None of that second-hand experience prepared us for the impact of being there in person. Our first Major Landmark was Tuolumne Meadows (pronounced Twalomay, which despite lots of practice wouldn't stay on my tongue.) We didn't spend much time here as the meadow was marshy from snowmelt. There were trails from the parking area and most likely more views were in that direction. We were satisfied with this.
Our next stop was at a big pullout at the highest elevation of the road, about 9,000 feet. We took a short trail to our first view of the Major Landmark we never tired of seeing. This is Half Dome, nestled in Yosemite Valley.
We continued our drive through the park, constantly agape. We drove all the way through and to the campground where we hoped to stay for the rest of our visit, wanting to be sure of a campsite. This campground is about 5 miles outside the park.
We were pleased that sites were plentiful, and took advantage of the recommendation of the campground host for the best one. We agreed we couldn't have done better. The view looking up:
These Bear Boxes were provided at every site, and use was mandatory.
We asked this host about bears as well, but again breathed a sigh of relief when he said it was too early in the season for bears. Add a bonus to our list of reasons to visit this particular week:
4) It was before bear season.
Settled in to our campsite, we had time to go back in to the park for our first look at Giant Sequoias. There are three groves in Yosemite, two smaller ones near the western park entrance, and the largest and most famous, Mariposa Grove, at the southern entrance. As our campground was near the western entrance, we chose Tuolomne Grove for our first experience. Though the Giant Sequoias are the Main Event, the forest had lots of fir and ponderosa pine. We were surprised at how much bigger the ponderosa was than it is here at home. In fact, in all our visits to groves, this was our posture:
Again, we marveled. Here's the bottom of a small Giant Sequoia:
and part of the rest, showing the top.
Dead-and-down. Giant Sequoias have no natural enemies (other than humans, of course). When they become so big they can no longer support their own weight, they fall over. I'm thinking when one of these trees falls in the forest, it makes a thunderous sound!
In the early days, cutting a road through trees for driving thrilled the tourists. It doomed this one, but it's still available for walking through.
After a long day's drive, we arrived at our choice of accomodations for the night:
This was a delightful campground. Not too many campers yet, and a creek with running water.
It's a never ending source of delight to Arizonans to see waterways with water in them!
We'd read numerous warnings that we'd be in bear country. This campground left no doubt:
We were relieved when we talked to the campground host who told us he'd never seen a bear in the 10 years he'd been there.
PART II: TRANSCENDENCE
(adj- exceeding or surpassing in degree or excellence)
Saturday: We drove about an hour to get to the turnoff on Tioga Road, which would take us across the park. This was the start of five days of non-stop wonderment, amazement, awe, and unbelievable landscapes. The scenery was non-stop.
We turned onto Tioga Road and to our astonishment, our astonishment increased.
We knew we really were in heaven when we (once again) pulled off the road to take this picutre:
I'm not lyin', all this is free for the looking! And yes, that's ice on the lake.
Wait, one more:
Because Yosemite has been a national park since 1864 (thanks to President Lincoln), there's a certain familiarity with many of the landmarks. Paintings, photographs, TV specials, movies, etc, feature the stunning views. None of that second-hand experience prepared us for the impact of being there in person. Our first Major Landmark was Tuolumne Meadows (pronounced Twalomay, which despite lots of practice wouldn't stay on my tongue.) We didn't spend much time here as the meadow was marshy from snowmelt. There were trails from the parking area and most likely more views were in that direction. We were satisfied with this.
Our next stop was at a big pullout at the highest elevation of the road, about 9,000 feet. We took a short trail to our first view of the Major Landmark we never tired of seeing. This is Half Dome, nestled in Yosemite Valley.
We continued our drive through the park, constantly agape. We drove all the way through and to the campground where we hoped to stay for the rest of our visit, wanting to be sure of a campsite. This campground is about 5 miles outside the park.
We were pleased that sites were plentiful, and took advantage of the recommendation of the campground host for the best one. We agreed we couldn't have done better. The view looking up:
These Bear Boxes were provided at every site, and use was mandatory.
We asked this host about bears as well, but again breathed a sigh of relief when he said it was too early in the season for bears. Add a bonus to our list of reasons to visit this particular week:
4) It was before bear season.
Settled in to our campsite, we had time to go back in to the park for our first look at Giant Sequoias. There are three groves in Yosemite, two smaller ones near the western park entrance, and the largest and most famous, Mariposa Grove, at the southern entrance. As our campground was near the western entrance, we chose Tuolomne Grove for our first experience. Though the Giant Sequoias are the Main Event, the forest had lots of fir and ponderosa pine. We were surprised at how much bigger the ponderosa was than it is here at home. In fact, in all our visits to groves, this was our posture:
Again, we marveled. Here's the bottom of a small Giant Sequoia:
and part of the rest, showing the top.
Dead-and-down. Giant Sequoias have no natural enemies (other than humans, of course). When they become so big they can no longer support their own weight, they fall over. I'm thinking when one of these trees falls in the forest, it makes a thunderous sound!
In the early days, cutting a road through trees for driving thrilled the tourists. It doomed this one, but it's still available for walking through.
The road into the valley is several miles long, and itself full of scenery. Our first Major Landmark of this day was Bridal Veil Falls.
We walked a beautiful trail to the base of the falls. The mist was significant, as was the breeze caused by the force of the falling water.
Back in the car, we rounded a curve and I gasped when this Major Landmark came into view:
El Capitan.
It's hard to describe the emotional and physical impact of this sight. I'll say it this way: if I hadn't been sitting down, I would have fallen to my knees. Stupendous.
Our next Major Landmark was Upper Yosemite Falls.
Yosemite Falls is seasonal, fed by snow melt. It dries up in July. This is the drought version of the falls. We saw photos in the Visitor's Center with four times the volume of water.
By now thoroughly dazed, we continued to the main parking lot. We found we'd been accurate in our prediction of the number of visitors, and easily found parking. Like other National Parks, Yosemite has a easy-to-use tram system which accessed all areas. We took the tram to the trail for Major Landmark Mirror Lake. The particular pleasure of this short hike was the enticing views of Major Landmark Half Dome.
At Mirror Lake, Half Dome was overwhelming.
This is North Dome on the left and Half Dome on the right.
Better cameras than mine can capture reflections in the lake, which are the cause of the Mirror Lake name.
We stopped briefly at Ahwahnee Lodge.
While historical and beautiful, it was a high-end hotel, with more than one concierge at the door, formal dining, and a destination wedding site. Where the lodges at the Grand Canyon are tourist-friendly, we felt uncomfortable here and didn't stay long.
A stop at the Ansel Adams Gallery was mandatory but also brief, what with the real thing right out the door.
It was a full day and we drove back to the campground for the night. Last fall there was a gigantic wildfire in the area of our campground. While the campground itself wasn't affected, both sides of the road in were heavily burned. No access was allowed, and crews were starting to take down the burned trees closest to the road. They had a big job ahead. It was an unmistakable reminder of the severe drought conditions that exist in the west.
Monday: Today we started out at Happy Isles, a smaller and less visited area. It had a nice trail, and the Merced River ran right through it.
Next, Major Landmark Yosemite Falls, Upper and Lower. Spectacular.
Our afternoon was spent visiting Glacier Point. As much as every place we'd been so far was superlative, the scenery both getting to and at the Point was even more so. Tunnel View is a large scenic pullout for this reason:
The Clark Mountain Range.
Nevada and Vernal Falls have trails to reach them. Besides not having time, they were beyond Ron's knees and my nerve for trails with edges. This view made us plenty happy.
Half Dome and companions.
Breathtaking, all.
Rain was predicted for Monday night. We didn't see much evidence of it even at bedtime, but were awakened about 12:30 by ground-shaking thunder and lightning that lasted about an hour. Accompanying rain lasted all night.
Tuesday: Cloudy views today as we made our way back into the park.
We found out that the road we'd come in on Saturday, Tioga Road, was closed....due to snow!
We went to the south end of the park for our last day. First we visited the Pioneer Museum, which is a collection of original buildings moved to this central location for viewing. This sample is the Yosemite Transportation Company building, which facilitated horse and motor transportation between the park and the railroad terminal.
The Wawona Hotel is historic and still in use.
A nearby visitor's center explained how influential artists, photographers, and writers have been to the preservation of this park.
On to our final Major Landmark, Mariposa Grove. It's the largest of the Giant Sequoia groves in Yosemite. Yep, they're Gigantic! The tree on the right was cut for cars to drive through, and still lives.
Our visit over, we left grateful and awestruck. As with our visit to Washington D.C. we realized how privileged we are that such large treasures are preserved for our enjoyment and that of the whole world.
Part III: Disquietude
(the state of disquiet; uneasiness)
On the way to Fresno, our destination for the night, our cell phones started to ring. When we saw it was our next door neighbor Deb, we quickly answered. Deb was calling to inform us of the Slide Fire. The third reason for the timing of our visit had just become invalid, in the most frightening of ways. We had one more day of visiting planned, and with her reassurances we decided to stay in contact and finish our itinerary.
Wednesday: This day we drove to Kings Canyon National Park. We'd been told that having been to Yosemite first, we might be disappointed. Not at all.
As we rose in elevation from Fresno, we drove into clouds lingering from the storm the day before. At the entrance to this park is another Giant Sequoia grove, and the clouds made it enchanting.
Though less famously known than Yosemite, Ron and I discovered the trees are if anything bigger, certainly more numerous, and the visitors significantly less. In fact, we decided another time we'd spend time at Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Parks, as well as Sequoia National Forest/Giant Sequoia National Monument which are all in close proximity, and skip the Yosemite groves altogether. These parks are more than deserving of their own visit; more than the afterthought to Yosemite we gave them.
This is a fork of the Kings River. There were many signs warning of river dangers. There's not much recreation allowed on this river.
Grizzly Falls required a stop, as did Roaring River Falls.
At the bottom of the canyon, we walked the Zumwalt Meadow trail.
The trail afforded fantastic views.
North Dome is equivalent in size to El Capitan.
Zumwalt Meadows was enchanting.
Too soon it was time to start the trek home, with an evening destination initially planned for Bakersfield.
Though the remainder of this trip was dominated by concerns about the Slide Fire which were described in the post of May 30, the pure pleasure this trip gave Ron and I was in no way diminished.
SONG
Here is calm so deep, grasses cease waving.
Everything in wild nature fits into us,
as if truly part and parent of us.
The sun shines not on us but in us.
The rivers flow not past, but through us,
thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell
of the substance of our bodies,
Making them glide and sing.
The trees wave and the flowers bloom
in our bodies as well as our souls,
and every bird song, wind song,
and; tremendous storm song of the rocks
in the heart of the mountains is our song,
our very own, and sings our love.
----John Muir
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