2014 - September 7th-8th - Yosemite National Park

Finishing our stay in the Redwoods State and National Park, we began our day drive on the 6th to Yosemite National Park. We made it to Santa Rosa for lunch and found Guy Fieri's Johnny Garlic Restaurant to have lunch. Guy is the celebrity from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on The Food Network. Santa Rosa is his home town so we knew that this would be a great restaurant. We were not disappointed. The food, service and setting were all spectacular. Mary Anne had the Thai Chicken Lettuce Cups - Marinated Chicken, Asian Slaw, Cilantro, Honey Almonds + Plum Sesame Sauce while I had the Buffalo Meatloaf Sandwich - Ground Bison Steak, Italian Sausage, Swiss, Maui Onion Straws + Bourbon BBQ Sauce. The portions were huge in size and flavor. We really enjoyed this stop!

                            
We continued our drive in the afternoon to Mariposa where we had booked our three night stay at The Yosemite Inn. The Inn is only about 6 miles from the park entrance. The small town of Mariposa is cute with several restaurants, lodging places and some gift type stores. It is definitely a town for the tourist to stay who are visiting Yosemite National Park which was great for us. We had a nice room but sort of missed the Redwood's cabin! We checked in and then drove to the Park just to see about how long it would take to get there on the winding mountain road. We entered and drove around for a short time to get our bearings before heading back to Mariposa for dinner and relaxation!
               
In the Park, we saw a small sign for Fern Creek and stopped to check it out. It was small but lovely. The American Indians consider this spring not only a source of water, but a source of life. This place has great spiritual significance.
               
Our next stop was at Bridalveil Falls of Yosemite. Starting in the Fall season, all of the waterfalls are in the best running condition normally. We are here at the end of the summer season plus we are in the third year of a severe drought. The Falls were not gushing and we looked hard to see the water. The best is at the top where the falls start from that plateau up there. There is sort of a mist coming down the mountain which we are sure is more water than it looks like; but, not as picturesque as traditional Yosemite photos show.
               
               
Yosemite is a hikers paradise with lots of ground that is only accessible by paths and free-lance walking. We took some local trails to take in some of the beauty of the park but didn't attempt those that seasoned hikers do in a day or several days.
               
El Capitan is famous for its massive bulk of largely unbroken rock and its sheer, vertical face soaring 3,000 feet into the air. This monolith is composed of a particularly durable granite allowing it to withstand the pressures of glaciers and erosion. The views are spectacular and we took many photos of the great El Capitan!
               
We took one of the short hikes on the Valley Loop Trail enjoying the mountains surrounding us and the meadows we were crossing. While walking, we spotted some mule deer that decided to have a mid-afternoon snack of the local grasses.
               
We stopped in the Yosemite Museum to see several displays and read some of the history of the area.
             
The granite rock mountains make this the number one park for hiking and climbing experiences. There are so many variations in the mountains that it is hard to take them all in and also not take an abundance of pictures from different angles.
The Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls were pretty dry with the California three year drought. In the Ahwahnee Lodge I took a picture of an oil painting of the Falls as they would look in good years.
             
Nestled in Yosemite is the Ahwanhnee Lodge. The structure is old and elegant. It would be a perfect place to stay. We enjoyed looking around the lodge and the magnificent décor. One night in a regular room is $540 or there is an upgrade for $1000 per night. But the area views are beautiful!
             
Other well known rock formations are The Triple Arches and Half Dome. Yes, Yosemite is truly known for the granite mountains!


With all of the rock mountains, one cannot forget that Yosemite also has Giant Sequoia Redwoods. We entered The Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. Five thousand giant sequoias fill the Mariposa Grove. These trees are some of the oldest and largest living things on Earth. They inspire awe, wonder, and an enduring sense of serenity. The walk through the grove took us by many of these giant sequoias and several unique one too.
            
These are called The Bachelor and Three Graces
            
The Grizzly Giant is one large Sequoia!
             
            
And then there is the giant walk-through Sequoia
             
The Clothespin Tree is very unique ...
            
The un-named trees are pretty spectacular too!
            
              
The Faithful Couple grow together ...
            
Located just outside of Mariposa Grove is the Yosemite National Park Wawona Hotel. There are several guest buildings making up the hotel. We wandered the grounds and had our lunch in their fabulous dining room.
Our lunch table view at the Wawona ...
We made the excursion up to Glacier Point which has a wide and picturesque view of the area called Clark Range. The views are outstanding. We had another guest take our picture from here with Half Dome in the background.
Views from Glacier Point of Yosemite Valley and the surrounding Clark Range
            
Shortly after entering Yosemite on the 7th, a fire broke out behind El Capitan. Hikers on El Capitan had to be air-lifted out by helicopter. The fire did not approach the common tourist areas, but we could see the smoke from it when it started and through the 8th. They decided to extinguish it as there are several trails used by hikers that go through that area. The fire did continue but was contained at the level they had planned. It did not interfere with our sight-seeing and there were no injuries. In several of the posted pictures and in the photo album, smoke can be seen.

So ended our three nights at Yosemite. As usual, the photo album link has several more pictures to view. Our trip continues for our last three night stay at Sequoia National Park in the next blog entry.