Take Me to your El Capitan!

Day 12 ~ Yosemite National Park

From Redwood City we had crossed the bay and driven through miles of farmland in the Central Valley, stopping at Manteca for some groceries and gas.  Leaving the valley floor we started climbing and came to an overlook above Don Pedro Reservoir. 

Don Pedro Reservoir

Again, the extent of the CA drought was obvious.  We met a local who said the reservoir is so low the original town site of Jacksonville, which had been flooded for the reservoir, was now visible.  

CA-120 climbs steeply and is one hairpin turn after another, no guardrails, and quite frankly it was scary.  Reaching the top and entering the trees, we enjoyed a picnic lunch in the charming village of Groveland – Big Oak Flat.  A short time later we arrived at the entrance of Yosemite National Park. www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm

Our campground for the next three nights was Hodgdon Meadows, just inside the park entrance.  The entrance was posted that all the campgrounds were full so we were feeling happy that we had made reservations (back in January) for our campsite.  It was early afternoon and we decided to drive on into Yosemite Village and get our bearings before check-in time at the campground.

The views of the park as we drove were beautiful; I don’t think we knew what to expect being only familiar with the major sites from postcards and photos.  Yosemite National Park is worthy of the designation, and far more beautiful than we had expected. With all the spectacular rock formations and waterfalls within a few miles, it was like it was designed by Walt Disney.

Our first view; Half Dome & El Capitan

It took about 45 minutes to drive into the Village.  Yosemite had about 4 million visitors in 2014; it employs 1200 people in the summer but is open year around, and has a 2015 budget of $29 million.  The Village itself is central to all the major landmarks and the NPS has done a wonderful job of providing shuttles and excellent signage to enable people to move around easily. www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/publictransportation.htm

During the drive we admired the territorial views of the Sierra Nevada wilderness and then Yosemite Valley opened in front of us ~ El Capitan, Half Dome, waterfalls, and meadows.  All of the familiar sites of Yosemite are visible within this small valley only about 7 miles long.  Our first stop was the Ansel Adams gallery where we admired his beautiful photographs of Yosemite and other areas.  The Village also houses a post office, NPS visitor center, a gift shop, restaurants, and the historic Ahwanee Hotel and Yosemite Lodge, as well as park headquarters.  The visitor center offers lots of information on camping, trails, climbing, road and weather conditions, history, tours and other useful information. 

After getting an understanding of the layout of the Park, it was time to go back to Hodgdon Meadow and set up camp.  We stopped at Crane Flat to buy some ice and firewood, and check-in at the campground.  Hodgdon Meadow is a tent and RV site campground with limited facilities.  There are no showers or utility hookups, but all the basics are provided.  It is imperative to use the bear-proof food lockers at the campsite, and we actually had to sign and display on our car dashboard a document stating we were aware bears had frequented the campground.  Our campsite was conveniently located equal distance from two restroom facilities but we agreed that neither of us would walk alone to the restrooms during the night.  Flashlights and bear whistles would be mandatory accessories!  www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/hodgdoncamp.html

Hodgdon Meadows

Bear Box

Bob established camp and we enjoyed a family favorite camp dinner of Potato Grande – potatoes, carrots, broccoli, onion, and cauliflower stir-fried and topped with cheddar cheese, sour cream and salsa.  Yum!  It had been a long day and we turned in early.  No sign of bears and we slept well.  The next morning we headed back into the Village to explore and admire the valley wonders.

We signed up for a valley floor tour later that afternoon. 

Valley Floor Tour

In the meantime we went to the museum, an interesting display of Native-American culture of the valley.  It was especially nice to watch an elderly Milwok woman making baskets.  Later we learned that she had begun working at the Park at age 18; now she is 83 and will retire within a couple days!  What a treasure of history she must be!

Niwot  Basketweaver

Basketry

 

The Ahwanee Hotel (www.yosemitepark.com/the-ahwahnee.aspx) is classic old national park lodge, and was perfect for lunch.  Afterward we enjoyed walking around the beautiful lobby and public areas.  The hotel was completed in 1927 and blends Native American with Art Deco and Arts & Crafts design elements.  Beautiful! 

The Ahwanee Hotel

Arts & Crafts/Art Deco styling

 













The Ahwanee and Yosemite Lodge (www.yosemitepark.com/yosemite-lodge.aspx) are very different in style with the Lodge (recently remodeled) blending into the natural landscape and convenient to the Yosemite Falls trails.

It was time for our valley floor tour and this turned out to be the perfect way to learn about the Park and enjoy stunning views of the major sites.  The ranger who narrated the tour was informative, entertaining, and the tour provided ample opportunity for photo stops.  One by one, the landmarks came alive as we learned about the history and geography of the Park, the geology of the land, and culture of the Native Americans.  Several groups of climbers were on the 3000 ft. high face of El Capitan, and even after seeing them we couldn’t quite believe what we’d seen!  They appeared as no more than specks on the cliff, even using binoculars.  The massive granite monolith of Half Dome dominated the eastern end of the valley.  Bridalveil Falls on one side of the valley and Yosemite Falls on the other provide magical views from every angle.  The Merced River winds its way through the valley.  The granite cliffs dominate the landscape.  All of this carved by glaciers thousands of years ago.  The overlook at Tunnel View presents the classic post card image of Yosemite National Park; the one we will remember forever.   Thank goodness Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir shared a campsite in 1903 and were inspired to save this wilderness!

El Capitan

 

Half Dome

 

 

 

Bridalveil Falls

Upper Yosemite Falls

Tunnel View

 

Where it all began

Day 13 ~ Yosemite National Park – South Lake Tahoe, CA

After having spent a day and a half admiring Yosemite Valley’s sites, history, geology, and culture it was time to explore more of the wilderness.  Tioga Road (continuation of CA-120) runs across the entire Park, from west to east, and is normally closed until late June due to snowfall.  However, there had been so little snow this winter that the road was open which was to our advantage.  We decided to break camp a day early and begin our drive eastward, viewing and exploring the vast Yosemite wilderness.  Let’s keep in mind that “exploring” actually means drive through the area, admire the views, and maybe take a reasonable hike on a well-marked trail.  We are roadside tourists on this trip, not wilderness backpackers. 

Be sure to buy gas, maybe some food at Crane Flat before taking off on Tioga Road.  It’s not a long distance but it takes a long time to drive, and if you are going over the pass and back again to the Valley it’s a long day with only one place at Lee Vining to top off your fuel.  Tioga Road is breathtaking!  It climbs in elevation, reaching nearly 10,000’ and every curve presents another vista of alpine country, lakes, wildflowers, snow-capped peaks, and a few remaining fields of snow.  There are plenty of pullouts, lots of opportunity for photos, and many hiking trail heads including one that is part of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail.  The road was undergoing some construction so there were a few delays but they provided more opportunity for appreciating greater Yosemite.

View from Tioga Road

A word about geology, and my traveling partner Bob . . . he is a mining engineer (ourretirementinsight.blogspot.com/2015/03/flexibility-key-to-multiple-careers.html) by education and half of his career.  Along with that comes a strong knowledge and keen interest in geology.  I feel so blessed to view the Park with Bob because he was able to explain the geology of what physically happened in this region, making it Yosemite!  I think an understanding of the geology truly enhances the view and splendor of the experience.

Spalling layers of Granite

About halfway along Tioga road, we reached Olmsted Point, named after Frederick Law Olmsted the famed landscape architect who had served as a Commissioner over the original land grant protecting Yosemite.  The views are stunning, and a special surprise is seeing the soaring backside of Half Dome.  Along Tioga Road the expanses of bare granite cliffs and exposed domes dominate the landscape.  

Back of Half Dome

Soaring Granite Cliffs

View from Olmsted Point

Leaving Olmsted Point you soon encounter Tuolumne Meadows, left behind from the ice age and now a sea of wildflowers and if you are lucky grazing wildlife.  Bear are frequently seen in this area; be careful and respectful.

Tuolumne Meadows

Insight into retirement . . . no matter how beautiful your surroundings life sometimes chooses to insert itself into your experiences.  I think we may have mentioned this concept in an earlier post.  But here we are in beautiful Yosemite, amid grandeur we cannot adequately describe, and I swear the only place in the Park where suddenly a slew of text messages drops in on the cell phone.  FYI, cell coverage had only been available in the Village and several hours had elapsed since we'd been able to check messages.  We rounded a curve on Tioga Road, came into a high elevation clearing, and ping, ping, ping!  Our neighbors who had generously been keeping an eye on our house in WA had called and texted several times.  We have a koi pond in the back yard and apparently the pump gave out.  The neighbors' fear was that the koi were dying and algae was growing rampant.  No sooner than the messages coming in, the cell coverage was gone.  It would be a few hours before we could deal with this crisis.  It was hard to not let real life put a damper on the rest of our time in Yosemite, but there wasn't anything we could do except keep driving and enjoy the view.

Tioga Road continues to climb until you cross Tioga Pass, the highest driving road in CA.  The views of the Sierras and the memories of Yosemite will stay with you as you leave the Park at the east gates and drive down toward Mono Basin Lake.   Reaching US-395 at Lee Vining, there is an interesting USFS visitor center, which provides a convenient spot for a rest and also to learn about the basin and the importance it plays in the long battle over water rights to lower CA. www.monolake.org/visit/vc

Mono Lake

We turned north on highway 395, and would briefly enter Nevada for the remaining drive to South Lake Tahoe, CA.  We were arriving a day early and needed to find a room, but were successful in getting lodging at a very nice Holiday Inn Express.  It was a pleasant respite, allowing us to do laundry, wash the car, and get organized again for the coming week.  Our camping days are over on this trip so now the rooftop carrier will not be unpacked and reloaded with every stop.  Dinner was a pub meal at McP’s Taphouse & Grill, and we made an early night of it.  

As soon as we had reliable cell service Bob was able to make some calls and line up pond service.  We called the neighbors and thanked them profusely.  Yes, we had had a good trip so far . . . tomorrow will be two weeks on the road.  We've enjoyed wonderful weather and seen so many beautiful sites.  And tomorrow, some of Le Anna's family will join us for a week in beautiful South Lake Tahoe.  The adventure continues!