A Passion for Travel: Yosemite National Park

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK TRIP

10 - 14 September 2013

We had enough miles on American Airlines for two first class tickets to Fresno, CA. When AA filed for bankruptcy and began talking about a merger, we decided to use them. We made the plane reservations and the hotel reservation in Yosemite the middle of February.

We flew from DFW to Fresno, picked up the rental car and headed north. There was freeway for a while and then that became a two-lane highway. We drove uphill most of the way seeing a parched landscape. We entered the Sierra National Forest and the highway began to curve more. In some places, there were deep horseshoe curves as we twisted our way up, down and around. This didn't change when we entered Yosemite National Park; the speed limit of 25 was ambitious in places. We were somewhat surprised at the dense forest which prevented our seeing much on either side of the roadway. After driving through Wawona Tunnel, we stopped at Tunnel View to make some photos of the mountains.

Smoke from the "Rim Fire" created a haze. [A fire that raged in forest land in and around Yosemite National Park and eventually consumed an area of about 400 square miles. During our visit it was about 80% contained.] The mountains are monumental granite and rise like giant hulks. Closer inspection reveals cracks, ledges, outcroppings, jags. Sunlight and shadow provide contrast. Impressive! It was after 4:00 when we arrived at the Ahwahnee Hotel and checked into room 105, a classic room in the original 1927 building;

it has a balcony with stunning views.

Sitting outside on the patio at dinner was pleasant and we watched 3 deer graze on the lawn.

A chipmunk scampered across the walk.

Valley Floor Tour - We caught the shuttle bus outside the hotel and rode it to the "Yosemite Lodge," arriving around 9:30. We found a place to sit and wait for the "Yosemite Valley Floor Tour" scheduled for 10:00. The tour, conducted by Ranger Matt, was in an open trailer with bench seats. A "tractor" driven by Bob pulled the trailer and there was a seat for the ranger which faced the trailer. He was miked and provided a clear commentary as we drove. We got several views of the major sights: Sentinel Rock; El Capitan; Glacier Point; Cathedral Rock; The Three Brothers; Half Dome. In addition, we saw several meadows and made a couple of stops, one of them at Tunnel View where we stopped yesterday on our way in. We also made a stop to listen to the Merced River babble its way through rocks. Ranger Matt pointed out rock slides and told of their danger; his commentary included some history of the valley. Two winters of below average snowfall have created extremely dry conditions and have severely affected waterfalls: Yosemite Falls has no water and is only a dark stain on the face of the cliff; Bridalveil Falls is only a trickle. The two-hour tour wound through the valley in a big circle ending where it began.

Glacier Point Tour - We awoke to the smokiest morning yet. The wind changed and smoke from the Rim Fire drifted into Yosemite Valley. We caught a shuttle to "Yosemite Lodge" arriving around 9:20. We waited for the "Glacier Point Tour" and were the first two people aboard the bus at 10:00. Jack was our driver/guide. Prior to boarding the bus, Jack told of the smoke and warned that views could be less than optimal; he also offered a chance to get a refund. If anyone accepted his offer, we were not aware of it. Because of the smoky conditions, we made some unscheduled stops. The first of these was Eye of the Giant, a roadside clearing from which we had a great view of El Capitan; we saw a rock climber more than half way up.

We then began our route to the top traversing much of the same area of the valley as yesterday's tour. Near the park entrance, we took the left fork of the road to begin the ascent to Glacier Point. We had a fairly uneventful park road ride for about half the way until we reached the Badger Pass Ski Lift. The last ten miles twisted and turned, sometimes in hairpins, making the tour bus seem cumbersome. We passed Sentinel Dome, the highest point on the route at 8000 feet and then descended some 800 feet to the parking lot for Glacier Point itself. We arrived at 11:30 and had forty-five minutes to check out the views. We walked to several points of the viewing area and looked down into the valley some 3000 feet below. We saw the meandering Merced River in the valley floor; the Ahwahnee Hotel across the valley; the swimming pool of the Yosemite Lodge directly below. Half Dome appeared somewhat ethereal encircled by wispy tendrils of smoke.

At our next stop, Tunnel View, just at the end of the Wawona Tunnel, the view wasn’t as good as the two previous times. Retracing our route back to our starting point, we saw the wind blowing the water at the very top of Bridal Veil Falls. Our last scenic stop was near a bridge which provided an excellent view of Half Dome.

At dinner in The Ahwahnee Dining Room our table was by a window and we had an unobstructed view of the half-moon above Glacier Point.

Leaving Yosemite - Because the morning was so clear and bright, we decided to return to Glacier Point before leaving the park. We squiggled out way back to the top and were treated to a spectacular view of Half Dome and Yosemite Valley. There was no comparison with yesterday's smoke-shrouded view.

We were elated that we had decided to make the drive back up the mountain. Our next destination was the Mariposa Grove, a stand of Giant Sequoia trees occupying the very first land set aside by the US government to be preserved as wilderness---forerunner of the National Park System. The parking lots were full and we had to ride a shuttle bus from the entrance gate. Once at the Gift Shop, we purchased tickets for the 1:00 p.m. tram tour which had audio commentary. The size of the trees, as well as the number of them, amazed us. While they are tall and have tops with clusters of needles resembling broccoli, the girth of the trunks, especially the bulbous base, impressed us most. We enjoyed the tram tour and seeing the named trees. We also enjoyed the presentation's comments on the “whys and hows” of preservation.