Yosemite National Park, Finally

Visiting Yosemite National Park has been at the top of our list of National Parks we must see for
more than a year.

Last week, we made it there.

"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

This is one of the most wondrous aspects of Yosemite; a verdant valley which gives and sustains life surrounded by mountainous slabs of granite with sheer faces, the remnants of which bed the valley floor.

We entered the Park through the West or Arch Rock Entrance via 140 after Merced.  This is the exit that is open year round.  We'd traveled about three hours on a straight highway and two hours on a two-lane curvy road.  Our standing policy is no Kindles or books once we enter the Park.  As a matter of self-preservation, the boys stop all, but gazing out the window once we hit the windy roads.

As an fyi, there are no gas stations in the Valley, and you will need gas.  Do yourself a favor.  Fill up when you see the gas stations that make you think, "Wow, that's cheap gas."

I did not.  Instead, I waited to fill up when I saw a sign that said "Last Gas Station Before Yosemite... No Gas Stations in the Park."  I paid about paid about a dollar more per gallon with that move ... but I also didn't worry about gas anymore.

We were fortunate to get a campsite -- the last campsite -- at North Pines Campground inside the Park.  It was, like Yosemite in general, a popular destination, but unbeatable for our purposes.  For $20 a night, we could sleep under the pines and cedars and wake up to a bike ride around the Valley, a hike up a nearby trail, or a gorgeous view.

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul."  ~ John Muir

Yosemite is a fantastic place to bring your bike.  There are numerous trails around the Valley, and you can bike for as long or as short as you like.  It is mostly flat, and the terrain is either paved or packed dirt.  Very easy and enjoyable for all levels.  The boys found rocks to jump over and biked so much their hands got sore.

The meadow is one of the prettiest spots in the Valley.  We biked here.  There are trails coming to it as well as going in and around it.

The Ahwahneechee tribe lived in the Valley for centuries before Anglo discovery in 1833.  They used to burn it back regularly to preserve it; and preserve they did.  It is a lasting legacy.

The Ahwahneechee's village was burned and food store taken during the Maripose War in 1851.  Remaining Ahwahneechee left the Valley and settled with the Paiute.  While officially 'extinct' as a people, Yosemite Native People have been evicted from the Park as late as late as 1969.

We drove to Glacier Point. Another day we'll hike.

Vernal Fall with a low flow.

We hiked a steep, but relatively short 3 mile hike to Vernal Fall.  At its peak in May, I read water flow ranges from 500-1000 cubic feet per second.  This is a 317 foot high waterfall, one of several in a Park known for its tall and robust falls. Vernal and the other waterfalls have been the sites of numerous fatalities.  Even at its lowest flow, the pull of the current is powerful and the rocks are slippery, covered with slime of transparent algae.

For bedtime reading, I brought Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite.  I read the first chapter aloud to the boys to the light of a lantern inside the tent.  It was all about death in the waterfalls.  Vignette after vignette of accidents that led to being shot over the falls.  Chasing hats and canteens, posing for photos, getting the perfect shot, cooling off.... The stories kept me up nights.

Call me crazy, but I had the attention of the boys, and we learned more about safety in that chapter than we did by any posted sign in the Park.  Every story began with, "He stepped over the guardrail," or "She climbed over the guardrail."

Having said that, from a novice's point, the signage does not seem to be in-your-face imposing.  Like all National Parks, you are responsible for your own safety.  Educate yourself.

And, for heaven's sake, stay out of the water upstream -- even 100 yards upstream -- of a waterfall.  It is a short, slippery trip to the brink -- and virtually every rescue attempt results in a double fatality.

Contemplating the height of Vernal Fall.

If you are planning on camping in Yosemite, look for campsites next to the river.  From our perspective, those were the cream of the crop.  They may have been a little further from the restrooms, but our noses told us that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Camping under pines and cedars makes for plentiful sap.  We heard it splat on the tent during the nights, and it got stuck on, well, just about everything!  We're using rubbing alcohol to get it off our tent.

In the dark of night, one of my sons slipped out to answer nature's call.  In his haste to get there and back before he met a bear, he sallied forth without his shoes.  He came back with no bear siting, but with sap dotting the bottom of his feet.
\
Like Brer Rabbit's tar baby, the more he tried to take it off, the more it got all over him.  All of our supplies to wipe it off were locked in the bear locker ....  Finally, he climbed into his sleeping bag, a bundle of frustration, and, to our mutual relief, fell asleep.

This family trip to Yosemite was all about taking it slower.  I was intent on being relaxed and not hell-bent on seeing and doing it all. Our normal week consists of a lot of "Come on" and "Hurry" and "Let's Go!!"  This was to be a easy, getting acquainted visit to the Park.

To ease up, we planned super simple dinners and even simpler breakfasts.  We didn't make eggs, for example, because no one wanted to wash the pan. We shared the work of unpacking and packing, pitching and striking the tent, cooking and cleaning, and learned (or at least I did) that many hands do make lighter work.

Banana boats for every taste.

Yosemite National Park is busy.  It is a destination.  Expect people.

We went to Yosemite mid-week in late October, and the Park was humming with people.  Our campground was in Curry Village and the Visitor Center is in Yosemite Village.  Unlike any other Park we'd been to, Yosemite has literally a village.  Well, two villages.

It is roughly an hour to drive in and out of the park; probably more when you factor in the distance to the nearest external campground or hotel.  People want to stay in the Park if at all possible.

The Park houses Rangers, of course, concessions, a post office, museums, a auto maintenance, shuttles, restaurants, campgrounds, cabin camps, employee residences, sporting equipment rentals, a hotel, a spa, a pool, a lodge, and tourists, including: day trippers, international travelers (we heard plenty of French, German, and Japanese), climbers, backpackers, and visiting families.

Still there are ways to reduce or minimize the crowds.  We traveled mid-week during school.  As a result, there were plenty of empty parking spaces.  Still plenty of people, but it could have been busier.  A friend of mine said her favorite time to visit Yosemite is in January.  I am guessing it is pretty serene then!  I'm planning on hiking the less traveled hikes on our next visit; although my son wants to hike the Half-Dome which is certainly a crowd pleaser.

We stopped at Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias on our way out of Yosemite and exited the Park the South Entrance and Highway 41.  You just can't beat spending time in the quiet majesty of the big trees.  Ancient and quietly wise.

Truly, magnificence upon magnificence.