Yosemite Finale...

With a big storm promised, we're glad we planned to stay only three nights. We felt we accomplished a great deal but have realized we have left so much more to be discovered. I love that!

Our final goal was to see an elusive waterfall.
I'm always excited to walk on the John Muir Trail, even if only briefly.

We embarked on a 1.8 mile out and back trail. "The trek up to the Vernal Falls footbridge is a paved, relatively steep trail (495 ft elevation gain) that terminates at a footbridge across the Merced River and has beautiful views of Vernal Falls, a famous waterfall in Yosemite."
It was fun to have some company along the way.



"Standing at 317 ft tall, Vernal is among the most powerful waterfalls in Yosemite. But, unlike Yosemite Falls or Bridalveil Fall, Vernal cannot be viewed from the valley floor by car – to see this beautiful Yosemite landmark, you’ll have to go adventuring on one of Yosemite’s trails. Covered in waterfall mist and dotted with natural rock stairs, the views of Vernal Fall are worth the journey."

Afterward, we found ourselves on a path of solitude along the river.


I was excited to find the last Rhododendron still in bloom. Beautiful.
A tour and lunch was had at the very famous (and awesome) Ahwahnee Hotel.
Everywhere you look in Yosemite, you’ll find history. Its granite cliffs are 130 million years old. Its Giant Sequoias are roughly 3,000 years old. There are places that don the names of the great people that visited them like Taft Point, the John Muir Trail and the Ansel Adams Wilderness.

Nestled in the heart of Yosemite Valley is a place much younger than its neighboring cliffs and trees, but with no shortage of history of its own. The Ahwahnee Hotel Yosemite is one of the area’s many gems. Today its known for its astounding amenities, amazing architecture, and incredible history.
The Ahwahnee was built in 1927 to attract wealthy visitors to the national parks. Its design by Gilbert Stanley Underwood features a grand rustic style with Native American-inspired elements and a massive granite exterior that blends with the surrounding cliffs. To help reduce the risk of fire, the building was made mostly of steel, granite and concrete that was stained to look like it was made from wood. A hurdle that had to be cleared was where to get the building materials. Since the hotel was being built in a national park, nothing within the confines could be used in the construction since it is all protected under federal law. Thousands of tons of building materials, furnishings and equipment had to brought to the site by trucks over primitive dirt roads. An amazing task to be undertaken in 1926!

The large dining room (6,630 square feet) has a gable-roofed ceiling 34 feet high at the ridge. The walls are massive granite piers interspersed with 11 floor-to-ceiling windows with the exception of the partition wall between the kitchen and dining room which has a six-foot wainscotting of wood paneling with plaster above. The sugar-pine roof trusses are supported by concrete "logs" again painted in imitation of the real thing. Original wooden furniture and wrought-iron chandeliers remain in use.

The floor-to-ceiling windows in the Great Lounge have 5x6-foot stained glass panels at the top, with handsome designs based on Indian patterns, but like many of the other interior elements done with a flatness found in Art Deco architecture.

The north wing of the hotel contains the lobby, decorated with floor mosaics of Indian designs executed in brightly colored rubber tiles. The cornice is stenciled with Indian-design paintings. The elevator lobby continues the Indian designs with sawn-wood reliefs on the elevator doors and an abstract mural based on Indian basket patterns over the fireplace in that room.




After a delicious lunch, we sat absorbing the view and the sunshine before strolling back to camp, one last time.


We were delighted to find this bridge to walk across. The Ahwahnee Bridge is a historic, triple-arched concrete bridge faced with granite, built in 1929. Constructed as part of the Yosemite Valley bridges project between 1921 and 1933, it was originally part of a roadway to Mirror Lake that was later converted for hiker-biker use (in 1970).
It is the only triple-arched bridge among the eight granite-faced, concrete arch road bridges in Yosemite Valley and is truly gorgeous.
This stay was not nearly long enough. It did make us realize that we have to get back to Yosemite more often. We're still thoroughly awestruck by its grandeur and all it has to offer.
“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

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