 |
Enjoying the view from Washburn Point
|
Description:
Last week Bonnie asked about
going to Yosemite
her grand kids and daughter. Bonnie was the photographer at our
wedding a few years back (read: 45 years). Her husband was my best
man, so we have had a long family connection. Anyway, Sherri and I
finagled an invite to go to Yosemite with them. So today I play tour
guide.
I got up around 6:45 and made
breakfast-something simple: bacon and french toast. By the time,
Bonnie, her daughter Moriah, her three grandchildren, Noah, Leah and
Delilah, along with Sherri and I get feed and packed up, it was 9:45
when we left. My guess is that it will be a long day and we will run
into darkness before leaving Yosemite.
 |
Sherri climbing Sentinel Dome
|
We stopped in Oakhurst to pick
up sandwiches at Subway, then went on. Not much of a line into the
park. Our next stop was the bathrooms at Chinquapin.
Like in the meaning of Wawona,
“It is a good place to stop.”
The original plan was to go
to the Valley and explore. I had asked if they were interested in
going to Glacier
Point-which
will take up at least half of the afternoon-turned out it would take
up more. After some hemming and hawing, everybody was in favor of
seeing the Valley from on top first, then going down to the Valley.
The drive along Glacier Point
Road is familiar to us, but even Sherri and I always get impressed
with how the Clark
Range
pops up as we descend to Bridalveil
Creek.
We pass by the full parking lot for Sentinel
Dome. I
take mental note of this. Then it is the descent down to Glacier
Point. But before we get there, I stop at Washburn
Point.
To me this view gives the feeling of the backcountry going on
forever-a favorite of mine, if you cannot tell. For a first view, our
friends are shocked with the beauty of what they are seeing. We
stayed there for a while.
 |
Jeffery Pine and El Capitan from Sentinel Dome
|
Now on to Glacier Point and
lunch. We walk out to the point, look around. It is a different view,
a view which allows us to look down into the Valley.
Camp Curry
plainly stands out with its white tents. I point out the Ahwahnee.
Sherri has her pattern, which looks like a Christmas decoration in
Ahwahnee Meadow-we still cannot figure out what is going on there.
After getting our fill of scenic wonder, time to have lunch. On the
handicap walkway is a nice rock border which we procure for our
eating pleasure.
After lunch, we head back to
the car. I had talked about Sentinel Dome as a possible hike.
Everybody wants to do it. But the parking area was filled up when we
came in. We will see if an alternative entrance is available. It is.
Fifty years ago, there was a road to a parking area at the base of
Sentinel Dome. Now it is a gated service road. But we can still walk
it. Lots of parking here, plus, it is a shorter walk than the regular
parking area..
 |
Bridalveil Falls from Tunnel View
|
We cross over the Glacier
Point Road and start walking the service road. I start with the lead,
but Leah is like out Korra-Steven’s dog-and wants to be in front.
Then Moriah also walks ahead of the slowing old man.There is a place
where the trail meets with our road. There we are asked which way
back to their car, After understanding where they are parked, we
direct them on the proper way. We came to a big puddle in the road.
Your intrepid explorer spots a way around it. And then the skies wets
us. But only for about ten minutes and not badly.
Before the assault of Sentinel
Dome, I go over what we are going to do if lightning appears. More of
a precaution than an expectation. Then up we go. The climb is not
strenuous because it is not long and the Dome is well traveled. The
reaction I got was it was well worth the climb and the time. Seeing
360 degrees and Yosemite from the top ;looking down is something most
tourists do not do. Even for someone like me, it is always a thrill
to be there. The kids are fascinated with all they can see. We even
take pictures with the old Jeffery Pine.
 |
Oldside the Ahwahnee
|
And then it is time to go
down. The kids show no fear and go down to the base of the dome in a
safe, but quick manner. I am not as nimble. But I do pick my way down
the dome with Bonnie and Sherri following. At one point, I hear
someone slipping and turn to check on our group-not us. But then I
slip, but catch myself with my left hand, while my rear gently makes
contact with the granite. A few minutes later we reach the base, and
start back on the road to our car. My left little finger starts to
ache and I wonder about it.
We head back down Glacier
Point Road, stopping briefly at the outhouse at the Sentinel Dome
parking are. Then off to the Valley. We play the “hold
your breath in the tunnel”
game. Of course Wawona Tunnel is a 1 mile line, going at 35mph-well,
you can figure out if this is possible-in my younger days it was. We
stop at Tunnel View for the signature view of the Valley. It gets the
appropriate Oh Wow’s!
 |
Glow off of Sentinel Rock
|
There is still time to take a
lap around the Valley floor in the fading light. The broadleaf trees
form a yellow and green canopy over the road, giving the feeling of
being within a kaleidoscope. I keep one eye on the road and one on
the display around us. Also I do my tour guide imitation. I am so
glad I live so close to this splendor. There was to be a prescribed
burn starting today along Southside Drive, but I do not see evidence
that it started.
We continue on our drive, a
slow drive as I am taking my time. Someone talks about Curry Village,
so we go by there just to take a look, not stopping. Just enough to
say we have been there. We now pass Ahwahnee Meadow and see two
things. First the diggings we observed from Glacier Point. The second
is the flashing lights of law enforcement as well as a helicopter.
There must have been a SAR action today.
 |
View of the Valley from Valley View
|
I decided that with the light
ending in the Valley, the Ahwahnee would be a good place to visit.
What’s more, they have nice bathrooms. So we wandered through the
Grand Lounge (some places call this the Great Room) with fireplaces
as tall as me. Noah counts chandeliers. All are in awe-it really is a
Grand Lounge. We read the various historical plaques.. After going
around the public areas on the first floor, we go out and circle
around the outside of the dinning area. Sherri and I ate here 40
years ago on our fifth anniversary. For a simple person like myself,
this is an impressive area-I always approach it with awe. Sometime
during this day, I was asked if there were Indian grinding holes in
Yosemite. There are some in the back of the hotel.
It is time to head home. There
is one more stop I want to make on the west end of the Valley. But as
I am going along Northside Drive, talking about the natural firefall,
I glance up at El Capitan. There is a bright red patch. Right then,
we are passing El Capitan’s picnic area, so I pull in and start
gawking. This is one of those experiences which Yosemite gives you
unbidden. Hopefully it is not a once in a lifetime. Not only is El
Capitan lit up, but looking towards Sentinel Rock-not Dome-that whole
ridge has turned orange. Just a total Wow!
But there is one more stopping
place: Valley View. This is a turnout right before the road loops
back around to go back up highway 41. This is one of the many great
views looking up the Valley. I am not expecting much since the sun
has already set and the Valley is growing darker by the moment. Once
again, I am surprised. The kids like being around the Merced River
and the adults are just so fascinated by the darkening views.
 |
View the Valley from Valley View
|
Finally, we leave the Valley
in the dark. We stopped in Wawona to order a pizza. The first place
will close before we get there, but Round
Table is
open, so we order a pizza from them. I do not know if it was because
we were hungry or the pizza was good, but all of us were well
satisfied. Then off we went back to Fresno. Along the way, there was
one more teaching moment. I taught an ancient chant which shows each
person the enlightenment of who they are, “Owa!
Tagoo! Siam!”.
If you do not understand, just repeat it until you do. We get home by
9:30, a bit tired, ready for bed and still rolling in laughter with
enlightenment.
Background
Ahwahnee Meadow.
It turns out that the Park Service is doing a restoration
project
to the meadow. They are removing the hard surfaces such as unneeded
pavement and tennis courts and returning the area to vegetation. The
natural drainage is being restored. While I cannot find a specific
project for what we are seeing, it is in the right area.
Little Finger.
Turns out my little finger had a minor fracture. Just enough to turn
it black and blue the next morning. The following Monday, Kaiser puts
a splint on it. I guess if I am going to break any bone in my body,
this would be the one.
Prescribed Burn.
Yosemite has been doing prescribed burns for years on the Valley
floor. Way before that, the Native-Americans who spent their Summers
there would regularly burn the area as well. But evidently they were
not ready to burn on the 21st. A followup email indicated they
started the burn the next day. The idea behind prescribed burns is
that it cleans up the ground from a layer of natural debris. This
returns the nutrients to the ground and makes an area less vulnerable
to intense fire.
