Yosemite National Park, part 2 of 2

Jill's Journal: To continue our lovely time in Yosemite National Park from yesterday’s post, we had several more Yosemite icons to visit. Perhaps the most celebrated of these is Half Dome, a unique granite formation which rises over 4,700 feet from the valley floor.

Notice what appears to be an Indian woman’s profile on the face of Half Dome. Long before Euro-Americans “discovered” Yosemite Valley, this area was home to Native Americans.

The distinctive Half Dome can be spotted from many places all over Yosemite and it’s easy to get your bearings according to where you are in relation to Half Dome.

Half Dome is on the California state quarter (along with John Muir). It’s also incorporated in several company, corporate, and organization logos, such as The North Face and the Sierra Club. The 16-mile hike to the top is supposed to be one of the ultimate day hikes in America and experienced hikers the world over aspire to it. A series of cables enables them to ascend the summit without rock climbing equipment. However, it’s extremely treacherous and deaths do happen (including two separate fatalities on the trail this summer).

Can you spot the waterfall through the trees? That’s the famed Yosemite Falls.

Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America at 2,425 feet. It’s usually dry this time of year, so we were fortunate to see it flowing (albeit lightly).

We spent a little time at Yosemite Village, site of most of the park’s civilization. There’s a grocery store, a school, a fire station, park offices, stores, museums, hotels, campgrounds. etc.

And of course, a post office. We’ve seen some really unique post offices on this trip, but this location has to rank up there.

The Ansel Adams Gallery has been owned by the celebrated photographer’s family since 1902. Many of his most famous images are, of course, of Yosemite.

Yosemite is known for its bears. We didn’t spot any, but these deer were a nice substitute.

While driving by El Capitan on the valley floor…

Rob’s eagle eyes spotted rock climbers.

We got a little closer and then the girls and I could see them too. They’re so small against the behemoth they looked like ants.

The beautiful Merced River runs along the valley floor.

It is said a two-hour drive through Yosemite from the El Portal area (at 2,000 feet) to Tioga Pass (at almost 10,000 feet) will reveal an impressive plant variety similar to what one might see on a trip from Mexico to the Arctic. We found one of the more fascinating areas to be the site of a giant fire that had ripped through the area a few years ago.

With about four million visitors a year, Yosemite is America’s third most-visited national park. (In front of it are Grand Canyon and Great Smokey Mountains National Parks; behind it in fourth is Yellowstone National Park). We saw rangers taking down signs all over the park and leaving just their stands, presumably in preparation for the winter snow’s arrival the next day. I guess that means the majority of those four million visitors come in the summer!

Tuolumne Meadows is a series of gorgeous sub-alpine meadows with domes all around. These meadows are supposed to be spectacular in summer, allegedly a green carpet populated with wildflowers. This area has already seen snowfall this year, which melted but helped turn the grass brown. The day after our visit, the snow returned and will stay until next May or June.

Tuolumne Meadows is also known for meandering creeks all through the grass and wildflowers.

The sun sets on our lovely time in Yosemite National Park. It’s truly a natural wonder and it’s easy to see why so many people declare it their favorite place on earth. Thank goodness people like John Muir fought tirelessly to make it and other places like it public lands, so we and our children and their children can marvel in and respect its beauty.

Yosemite National Park, part 1 of 2

Jill's Journal: “It is by far the grandest of all the special temples of nature I was ever permitted to enter.” –John Muir

“Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space.” –Ansel Adams

I’m certain I can’t say anything about California’s crown jewel, Yosemite National Park, that hasn’t already been said, so I’ll just share our time there.

The most spectacular entrance to the 1,200 square miles of Yosemite is supposed to be the lone eastern entrance, which just so happens to be the side we’re on. The scenery on the famed Tioga Pass Road leading up to the park through the Eastern Sierras is simply magnificent and it just gets better once through this gate.

Tioga Pass, just shy of 10,000 feet, is California’s highest vehicle pass.

I loved this hand-colored sign at the entrance.

And then it’s straight to the natural beauty. The stunning Tenaya Lake is one mile long and bordered on three sides by granite peaks.

The number one thing we noticed about Yosemite is that it’s truly a hiker’s paradise. At roughly the size of Rhode Island, there are over 800 miles of hiking trails through the park. Our girls are intrepid little hikers, but Yosemite’s best hikes are multiple miles long and they’re just not quite ready for that yet. So, we spent our time in Yosemite seeing the major landmarks and getting a nice overview of the park.

Olmsted Point gave us our first view of Clouds Rest with Half Dome beyond. All the major rock formations in Yosemite are named.

Pictures of course do not do all these tremendous rock formations justice. There are four distinct geographic areas in Yosemite: high sierra, granite cliffs, sequoia groves, and valley.

We got our first bird’s eye view of the famed Yosemite Valley from the lovely Valley View overlook.

Valley View is clearly popular with artists.

We’re moving closer to the valley floor…

This spot is important. First, a little background: President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant in 1864, making Yosemite the first park land set aside by the U.S. government for conservation and citizen use. Yellowstone was made the first national park in 1872, while Yosemite Valley was ceded to California as a state park. Homesteaders, shepherds, and loggers were actively destroying the area surrounding Yosemite Valley. Conservation activist John Muir lobbied Congress to make the whole area a national park, which happened in 1890 but did not include the heart of Yosemite (Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove still belonged to California). In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt and Muir sat together beside a campfire at this spot and camped for three days in surrounding areas. During that time, Muir convinced Roosevelt to take Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove away from the state to create a unified Yosemite National Park. By 1906, Roosevelt was able to sign a bill that did just that.

This is the famous and magnificent Tunnel View. From left to right: El Capitan, Clouds Rest, Half Dome, Sentinel Rock, Cathedral Rocks, and Bridalveil Fall. Below is Yosemite Valley.

A little closer to Bridalveil Fall, which looks tiny here but stretches 620 feet from top to bottom.

We later took a short hike to the base of Bridalveil, which got its name from the mist that wafts off it. When the breeze blows, it resembles a bride’s veil.

El Capitan is 3000 feet tall and sheer granite. Only the most expert of climbers dare scale it.

More (much more) tomorrow...

Our Little Baker

Jill's Journal: When the girls couldn’t play outside in the snow all day (it’s cold and we don’t have proper snow gear), it seemed the perfect time to do some baking. Erika has read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s entire “Little House” series and in one of the later books, a grown-up Laura visits her daughter Rose in San Francisco and shares some recipes of the time. Erika has had her eye on two: German Honey Cakes and French Croissants.

Erika graciously got her sisters involved in her baking (I suspect mostly because 20 straight minutes of hand stirring is tiring!). Both of the recipes turned out fine in spite of vague directions like “Bake in a moderate oven,” but neither were a huge hit with the girls. It was a great lesson though in modern techniques and conveniences (and tastes) vs. those of a century ago. It’s amazing to me how even something like kitchen time can turn into a homeschooling lesson…I’m not sure if that’s a blessing or a curse of the homeschooling Mom!

Winter Storm

So today we realized that it was our very last day of fall. Tonight and tomorrow call for snow, with a possibility of up to 8 inches over that time.

I took time today to ride bikes and enjoy a little outdoor time with the girls. Erika rode with me to the store to pick up snacks; Madelyn enjoyed time riding around, and then on the playground - she should be a gymnast (pictured); and Victoria just wanted to ride directly to the playground, swing a little, and come directly back home.

After all that I went out to run some errands. It was fun for me to watch a town get ready for the 'big' snow. We're expecting to be snowed in for the next couple of days. I felt a little at home seeing all that and prepping myself by backing in the cars, putting the truck into 4WD, and buying food for several days ... making sure everything's taken care of, just in case...

I took some photos while I was out tonight just to show what's going on.

I just opened the door and realized again how much I enjoy a good snow storm. There's about 2 inches of snow on the ground right now - the entire landscape is white and the sound of snow falling is just so - peaceful. Maybe in the morning we'll be snowed in for the day. :)

The Mountains Win

Jill's Journal: The Eastern Sierras in California’s Mono County (random shots above and below) have officially won us over. Beauty seemingly at every turn. We’ve had a couple of amazing days right before the snow is supposed to hit and close just about everything but winter sports in this area until next May or June. Luck has been on our side as the snow is late this year. We literally squeezed in at the last moments over Yosemite’s Tioga Pass and on the desolate, unpaved road to Bodie’s ghost town. We’ve been unlucky too as we just missed Devils Postpile National Monument by a day, but that’s the way it goes sometimes with traveling. There’s so much to see in this incredible country of ours. We’ve got to celebrate the great things we do get to see with our own eyes and not mourn the ones we don’t. And with Yosemite and Bodie, there is much to celebrate.

To be continued…

Adventures in (High) Altitude

Jill's Journal: Altitude used to be a dirty word in my book. Every single time I flew in an airplane, I got altitude sickness. Every time Rob took me to Tahoe, I got altitude sickness. One time, at approximately 9,000 feet in Colorado, I got so sick that I’m told I stopped breathing and turned blue. I don’t remember any of that. I just remember losing use of my limbs and being revived from a heap on the floor. Yes, altitude has never been my friend. Climbing Mt. Everest will never be on my list. Give me the Mediterranean instead. I’m more of a sea level-loving kind of gal.

So, it was with a little trepidation we embarked on some of these mountain adventures the last few months. First notably “high place” was Crater Lake. Surprisingly, I didn’t have any problem, even on strenuous hikes. Then it was Tahoe, where I’ve notoriously had trouble. Again, and even more surprisingly, no problem. Now it’s Mammoth Lakes, which at 7,800 feet is higher than either Crater Lake or Lake Tahoe. Amazingly, I seem to be doing just fine. Even more amazingly, my high altitude-loving mountain man of a husband is not. In some cruel twist of fate, he’s the one with altitude sickness this time. I feel for him, because I know it’s not fun. (Happily, the kids are handling it all just fine.)

I’ve even conquered baking in high altitude, thanks to a Google search (what did people do before Google?). Until I met Rob, I had no clue that cooking and baking on a mountain had different rules (due to less dense oxygen and less humidity) than at sea level. And I didn’t care because I had zero desire to ever live in the mountains. But unfortunately, if we’re going to spend time in altitude, my family’s gotta eat. I’ve learned the rules – less baking powder, less sugar, more liquid, higher cooking temperature, etc. – and they actually work. I made a pumpkin caramel cake for Halloween yesterday that was pretty close to perfection, even at the hard-core elevation of 7,800 feet! It’s the little victories that count. Take that, altitude.