Dems Bears in Those Woods - Part 3 #yosemite #vacation

3 Brothers Granite Rock Formation

Yosemite Valley gets busy pretty quickly so my husband and I decided to get an early start to the day on Wednesday. We left Wawona around 8 and arrived in time to take an early morning tram tour out of Yosemite Lodge.

The pro side of the tram tour: I saw a lot of neat places and learned a lot about Yosemite. The con? Even though the heat was in the 80's, there was no cover so it got hot fast.

We traveled past the Merced and saw a ton of people sunning, swimming, and even tube rafting.

The Merced

El Captian is one of the world's largest granite rock faces in the world. It's incredibly steep. To my surprise, a lot of people rock climb up the steep façade. Those are some daredevils! We drove past the different campgrounds, Curry Village, upper and lower pines and checked out the Awanhnee Hotel – lots of early 1900's Americana decked out the main areas, but it's $499.00 a night. I could never afford it.

El Captian

We ate lunch at the Yosemite Lodge grill and out of all the places we tried, it was my favorite. They offered a nice variety. It was still pricey though.

That evening, back in Wawona, Andrew and I went to Campfire with a Ranger. The topic was: "What is Camping?" Does camping allow for DS/IPhones/IPads? Should camping offer shower facitities? Tents? Food? Just what is the attraction for people to go camping? We all pretty much decided camping involved a desire to be outdoors and to enjoy nature, but we differed on the extent.

At the Ahwanhnee Hotel

So I have to ask – what is camping for you? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Smiles

Steph

Dems Bears in Those Woods #2 (My vacation in Yosemite) #yosemite #vacation

My Inner Girl, Half-Dome, and a ton of Granite

Our first day at Yosemite proved exciting. We were in a "loop" (at Wawona) and every spot was taken. Our fellow campers crawled out of their tents between 6:30-7 am. Okay, it was early. My Inner Girl dragged me to the restroom where I brushed my teeth and popped in my contacts. There was no soap or anything to dry your hands in the potty. Thank goodness the toilet paper was provided. Drip dry is not my thing.

My DH cooked up breakfast and then we were off. Our destination: the Valley Floor. The road felt long. It had a lot of curves and kept going up. I learned that Dramine was my husband's best friend. When he got to the top, we drove through a tunnel and exited to the most gorgeous view in the world – El Captian, Half Dome, and the 3 Brothers granite rock formations. Of course my husband parked the truck and we took a million pictures. (That view is on my California Yosemite license plate.)

After our photo op, we drove down to the Valley Floor and found Bridelveil Falls. Eager to hike, we poured out of the truck, took more pictures and raced off to the trail. The falls itself seemed but a trickle; it was a thin stream of water. There were no rushing cascades of H20, no spray, no loud noises, no "Ansel Adams" vibrant photo opportunities, just a slow, small steady stream of water – and a ton of people.

The Inner Girl felt a little overwhelmed. In my 20's, a crowd of people never bothered me. Now in my 40's, I can't help but feel a little nervous.

In my Ranger book, I listed Bridelveil Falls as my special place in Yosemite. What impressed me the most was how a lot of natural elements came together – water, granite rocks, trees, birds, the sun. I've always felt a deep spirituality in nature and this spot embodied that for me. My son, Andrew, has an Ansel Adams 4x6 of Bridelveil, but my goal is to order a poster for the house, to remind me of the spirituality the spot invokes.

After visiting Bridelveil, we parked in the Valley day lot and set out exploring. After hopping a bus or two, the family found the Valley Visitor Center. I took a picture with the AAA Westways Magazine. (Now, I just have to find the time to email it in.) I discovered glaciers formed Yosemite. (like much of my childhood home, New Hampshire, was.) We got our bearing, ate lunch at Denigan's Café, and bused it over the Yosemite Lodge for tram tickets.

Before leaving, we found the Ansel Adams Gallery. My Inner Girl died and went to Black and White Heaven. What I love about Adams is his ability to capture the beauty of Yosemite with black and white photography. My favorite photo of his is "Moon Over Half Dome." During my time in Yosemite, I learned that it's such a dynamic place to take pictures, and black and white photography works better than color prints. There are a lot of shadows in Yosemite due to the stark, granite terrain, steep elevations, and old, majestic trees. Black and white captures the shadows much better than color.  

Our trip back to Wawona was uneventful. My DH broke out the Dutch oven and he cooked up a pork rib, BBQ sauce meal with carrots and celery. Joe wrote in his journal. I helped the boys with their Ranger books. Soon, nighttime was upon us.

Before I depart, I wanted to touch a little bit on Half Dome. The view from the tunnel makes it appear that at one point it was more rounded and an "event" occurred that broke it in half. This is not the case. Half Dome formed naturally it its appearance. To hike up to Half Dome, you need a permit. Maybe if I was younger I'd be up to the challenge, but nowadays, I'll have to pass.

Next: My Inner Girl takes a tram ride with the boys.

Question: What kind of souvenir would like to receive from Yosemite?

Dem's Bears in Those Woods Part One #yosemite #vacation

My Adventures as a Yosemite Jr. Ranger

Growing up in New Hampshire, one of my favorite day trips was to visit Bear Brook State park. Outdoors and wooded, you could fish, swim, hike, and explore. I always had a fun just being outdoors. So for me, at a young age, the "outdoors" was embedded in my bones.

 

Bear Brook, NH

When my husband told me we were going to Yosemite this year, my inner girl got excited and packed my backpack that day.

Let me tell you, getting our spot (#59 in Wawona) was a trek in the wilderness. My husband had his computer, my computer, and his iPad doing the campsite lottery until we got lucky. Oh – Wawona is not on the valley floor so it was about a 45 minute trip into the Yosemite Valley. We didn't mind. We were in. Life was good.

We bought a shade and measured our coolers to make sure they fit into the bear box.

Yep. There's bears in dems woods. The only way to keep your food and toiletries safe is to keep 'em in bear box.

Sadly, there are a couple of "speeding kills bears" around the park where cars have struck bears. The speed limit in Yosemite is low, but it helps keeps them safe. In my ranger book, I learned to: never feed the bears, lock your bear box, don't leave food in your car and throw out your trash. Yes, my inner girl teamed up with my son, Andrew, and we got our Jr. Ranger badges.

Our trip to the park was uneventful. We went to Fresno, changed highways and traveled north until we found the Ponderosa Pines and Granite rocks of Yosemite. It was 20 bucks for a 7 day stay. We entered from the south. Our campsite, Wawona, wasn't far off, but it was busy. Our spot wasn't that far from the river. We pitched our tent, settled in, and visited the general store for some firewood and beer. Next to the general store is a gas station. Needless to say, one look at the price was enough to give me a heart attack.

We settled in after cooking up some grub and visited the outdoor amphitheatre for "Campfire with a Ranger." My inner girl had to go every night, if only to learn something new about the park.

Believe it or not, I didn't see one even after all my prep work. My inner girl didn't mind. I had plenty of adventures without encountering the bears.

Half Dome

On a serious note, I've always been a nature girl and I've always been thankful for growing up in New Hampshire, a mostly rural state. I was always at home swimming in a lake, hiking at Bear Brook, playing on the sand at Hampton Beach, and exploring the quarry near my junior high school. New Hampshire is known as the Granite State and everywhere you turn, you can find it. My grandmother had a big out-of- place granite rock just past her house left over from the ice age.  There's beauty in a rugged landscape that sings a song to the heart which one never forgets and when I went to Yosemite, my inner girl heard that song she hadn't heard in years and it reminded me of those things in life that's special – it's not the things you can buy, but the things that you can hold in your heart.

Next: My inner girl and the boys find Half Dome.

DID YOU KNOW?

Abraham Lincoln signed a grant in 1864 preserving the land in Yosemite that is now the Mariposa Grove and Yosemite Valley.

The National park Service was established in 1916 to protect parks like Yosemite.

Glaciers were responsible for forming Yosemite thousands of years ago.

Yosemite averages over 3.5 million visitors a year.

In 1890, Yosemite became a National Park.

Author Bio: Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. Her latest contemporary romance is "Gifts." Can Famke and Chris make their country's Olympic team despite their challenges?

Reviews:

"A joy to read." 5 Stars, Joy Cagil, Amazon Reviewer. 

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