Dems Bears in Those Woods Part 4 #yosemite #summervacation

Giant Sequoia in the Mariposa Grove

Our next to the last day in Yosemite found us exploring Wawona and the Mariposa Grove. Mind you, Yosemite is huge and this area of the park is in the very southern end. The wildfire, which entered the area, is in the northwestern part of the park near Hetch Hetchy, close to 40-50 miles away from Wawona and approx. 30 miles away from the Valley floor. In the 1900's, the Tuolumne River was damned up to create a reservoir. This reservoir, Hetch Hetchy, provides the water and electricity for San Francisco. It's hard to fight fires in this area so I hope all goes well.

Our touring tram 

We left our campsite early, at 8, to get parking at the Mariposa Grove and signed up for the 1^st tram tour leaving at 9:30. The giant sequoias in the area are some of the biggest and oldest.  The Grizzly Giant, a gnarled, old, tall tree, is close to 2,000 years old. Some giant sequoias have fused together and some have been spilt at the base. One has been cut through the trunk so a horse and buggy could drive through. Surprisingly, this doesn't kill the tree. The sequoias have a reddish tannin that runs through it providing nutrients to every part regardless of the damage the trees receive. The trees in the grove stood as a proud testament of time. Just imagine – the Grizzly Giant was a seedling during the height of Rome. It's enough to give one shivers.  We saw some seedlings during the tour, near a cabin. They were as tall as the cabin, a bit slender, and were only 20 years old.

Baby Sequoias

 After visiting the Grove, we traveled to the Wawona Hotel. It's an old style hotel, Victorian in appearance. It was built to service the travelers coming to visit the sequoias. Teddy Roosevelt paid a visit to the hotel when he was president. There are rooms with baths and some without – you have to walk down the hall to use a community bathroom. At the Visitor's Center, the boys turned in their Junior Ranger books and raised their hands promising to do their best as Yosemite Jr. Rangers. We also toured the Thomas Hill studios.  Hill was a famous painter who did "The Last Spike," showing the last spike of the transcontinental railroad being driven in.

Wawona Hotel 

We ate lunch at the Wawona Hotel and I had turkey burger with a chili pepper, not my usual fare, but very tasty. (and pricey)

Being Yosemite Jr. Rangers

After lunch, we toured the pioneer village. There was a covered bridge, blacksmith shop, horse/mule stables, and even a jail. The village captured an authentic feel of the turn of the century in Yosemite.

At the Pioneer Village 

That afternoon we all took a dip in the Merced at our campsite. My DH cooked up a Dutch oven treat. Andrew and I visited "Campfire with a Ranger." It was a very relaxed day, but we learned a lot, especially about the sequoias.

In the Merced

So I gotta' ask – who's cooked in a Dutch oven camping style before? What's your favorite thing to cook up in a Dutch oven?