Highlights of Yosemite...

We were between campsites today so we headed out on a driving tour to hit all the highlights. What a day! This would be a good time to pour a cup of coffee and come along for the pictorial ride. Wow.

We began by admiring El Capitan’s iconic granite walls which dominate the west end of Yosemite Valley. At more than 3,000 feet above the valley floor, it is 2.5 times as tall as the Empire State Building, or more than 3 times as high as the top of the Eiffel Tower. The view of El Capitan is a beacon for visitors, a muse for photographers, and climbing El Capitan is one of the world’s ultimate challenges for rock climbers adventurers. We were there simply to watch and marvel not only the grandeur of the icon but also the prowess of those attempting to conquer it. Even just watching is scary.

The red arrow on our photo shows this climber, practically invisible to the naked eye. Oh my gosh, so crazy.

I asked one of these guys who was heading out, "Does your Mom know you're doing this?" He said that he doesn't tell her anything until he's back down, safely. As a Mom, I appreciated that.

In this special spot, in 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt and naturalist John Muir took a legendary three-day camping trip in Yosemite, during which Muir convinced Roosevelt of the urgent need for national conservation efforts. Their conversations and experiences camping together led to Roosevelt expanding national parks and monuments and signing the Antiquities Act, permanently preserving millions of acres for the future. What a campout!

The only negative about traveling to Yosemite in the Fall, and it's a minor negative, is the fact that the waterfalls aren't as magnificent as they are in the late Spring. We were delighted anyway.

"Plunging 620 feet, Bridalveil Fall is often the first waterfall you'll see when entering Yosemite Valley. In spring, it thunders; during the rest of the year, look for its characteristic light, swaying flow."

A first for us was a stroll down the Old Wawona Road. I fell in love with the three Bridalveil Fall Bridges (1913). The Bridges were the first reinforced road bridges in the park and connected Wawona to Yosemite Valley. Riders in horse-drawn wagons, weary after the dusty 23-mile journey (loop), likely rested here in the cooling mist of Bridalveil Fall.

Then something happened- A new era of tourism and controversy began in 1913, when rangers issued Yosemite's first automobile permit. Traveling suddenly became faster, easier, and more affordable. More cars meant more litter, pollution, and overcrowding. More than a century later, park managers still grapple with these same issues. John Muir was not happy with this new era... "These blunt-nosed mechanical beetles will hereafter be allowed to puff their way into all the parks and mingle their gas-breath with the breath of the pines and waterfalls." How right he was and why we don't want to return in the Summer.

This phone booth just seemed out of place.

While there are no longer phonebooks dangling from chains, there was this helpful directory. Hmmm, Press *10 to get God's Blessings. Interesting, indeed.

A must is a stop at Tunnel View. You know the park isn't crowded when I can stand in the middle of the road and take photos of Steve with no cars coming or going! This very cool tunnel opens up to one of the most famous views of Yosemite Valley, showcasing El Capitan, Half Dome, Sentinel Rock, Cathedral Rocks, and Bridalveil Fall.

The construction of the Wawona Tunnel began on January 30, 1931, and opened to public travel on June 18, 1933. It took about 230 tons of dynamite to bore through solid granite to create this nearly mile-long tunnel. This construction is considered significant in its design within the National Park System and in on the National Register of Historic Places.

I love this photo of Steve's brothers and his Dad in 1961. Steve wasn't born but was in Yosemite in the Summer of 1968. We just can't find the photos.

The only time we've taken our sons here was in 2006. What has taken us so long to return with them? I'm going to make it happen!

And how gorgeous is the Yosemite Conservation Heritage Center? Formerly known as LeConte Memorial Lodge, it was built by the Sierra Club starting in 1903. The Sierra Club still operates the iconic structure as a public education and visitor center. IF we were here in the Summer, we could explore history exhibits, browse the reference library, enjoy the kids' corner, or attend an evening program. A man very tied to Yosemite, Ansel Adams, worked summers as custodian here from 1919 to 1923. It was the reading room that introduced him to the club's conservation mission. His first published image was of the lodge itself.

If you aren't aware of who Ansel Adams is, this is a pretty thorough link. Best's Studio is probably the most important of all the studios operating in Yosemite at the turn of the 20th century. Harry Best established himself in Yosemite Valley in 1902. In 1925, he relocated the business to its present location. A young and talented artist named Ansel Adams often played the piano at Best's Studio (it was the only piano in the valley). Ansel met his future wife, Harry Best's daughter Virginia, there and it is where he first publicly exhibited his art. He and his family lived and worked at this site through the late 1940s.

The business was eventually renamed The Ansel Adams Gallery in 1971 after his son and daughter-in-law took over management. I think it is incredibly cool that an Adams is still running it all.

A sign on the door when exiting the studio reads, “When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.”― Ansel Adams. I love that.

Another must, for me, is a visit to the Yosemite Post Office. It's history history began with the establishment of a post office named "Yo Semite" in 1869, predating the national park by two decades. The current, historic Yosemite Village Post Office was completed in 1925, designed by architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood in the National Park Service rustic style (who also designed the Ahwahnee where we're lunching at tomorrow). Needless to say, it has been an important community and visitor hub ever since.

We learned there are 2,000 permanent residents in Yosemite National Park, with that number swelling to 4,000 in the Summer. In addition, there are 45 students who attend school here. It is truly a world within itself and the Post Office is more than a place for tourists to mail their "Wish You Were Here!" postcards.

We even got a little birding in, too.

A surprise was finding some wildflowers still in bloom.

One day, as I wander through Yosemite National Park, I would like to see more of the great diversity of wildflowers; to date about 1,450 species that have been found in the park.

We enjoy cemeteries and the Yosemite Cemetery is full of stories, told and untold. "This is the final resting place of many of Yosemite's early residents. Some of those laid to rest here are well-known figures in the history of the park. Some spent their entire lives in Yosemite and are now almost forgotten. Others were visitors about whom very little was known, even at their time of their deaths. There are people who died here while on vacation, early settlers and homesteaders, old timers and infants, hotel proprietors and common laborers, each with a story. Many of these stories are entwined like strands in a rope that spans a century or more. Some stories are short and alone. Some, like those of American Indians buried here are so hidden we may never know them.

The stories of children are the worse. We found the tragic grave of Effie Maud Crippen who died at age 14 on August 31st, 1881. “She faltered by the wayside and the angels took her home.” Upon further research, "Effie, the youngest of four daughters of Joshua D. & Adelaide Weldon Crippen. The family were residents of Yosemite as her father was the Sheriff of Mariposa Co. Effie died after stepping on broken glass while wading at Mirror Lake. An artery severed in her foot and she bleed tremendously on the 3-mile horseback ride home and couldn't be saved."

This is the final resting place for hotelier A.B. Glasscock, who was the proprietor of the Sentinel Hotel from 1893 until " he was stricken with paralysis on last Sunday morning while attending to his duties around the hotel. The attack came on without any warning and the stricken man was caught by bystanders as he was falling. He had not regained consciousness on Wednesday morning and his condition was such that the end was not far off. Several doctors who were in the Valley at the time were attending the stricken man. Later. - Mr. Glasscock died about half past six o'clock Wednesday evening, never having regained consciousness since first stricken." He was only 53.

John C. Anderson, born in Sweden, died July 5, 1867 at the age of 55 years. He was a miner turned guide and hostler who arrived during the Gold Rush and later set up claim in Yosemite Valley. Of interest is the marble headstone marking his grave. It must have been brought into the valley at considerable effort as no marble exists there. The headstone tells us that he was killed by a horse. Anderson, a stage driver, was first buried at the base of the Four Mile Trail. Later the grave was moved to its present location. Tradition says that his locust wood switch was stuck in the ground to mark his grave; that it took root and that locust trees, now common in the valley with several in the cemetery, are descendants of Anderson's switch.

Thankfully, not all who are buried here had untimely deaths. Lucy Brown, one of the last American Indian survivors of the Mariposa Battalion's 1851 raid of Yosemite Valley is said to have been well over 100 when she died (many claim the number to be closer to 120). She had six generations of family with her for her final breath. Wow.

Our home, for two nights, spot 34 in Upper Pines Campground, is idyllic.

I had the luxury of reading by the fire. This really is a magical place to be.

Steve loves a campfire. I guess he agrees with John Muir's assessment, "The glories of a mountain campfire are far greater than may be guessed." Fantastic Day 2.

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HAERR TRIPPIN'

Highlights of Yosemite...

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