We left Park Sierra, a terrific RV park, at 7:22 am.
Ah, the difference in climate! Pomegranates are growing on the shrubs by the club house. We got bread, milk and bananas in Oakhurst.
This tunnel in Yosemite was dedicated on June 10, 1933. It was designed to provide the traveler a dramatic view.
Indeed it is, even with the overcast skies. El Capitan on the left and in the shadows is the Half Dome. Kinda hard to see, but a small forest fire in the center. Snow on the mountains in the distance.
Near the very bottom of this photo is the road we will take when we leave Yosemite Valley to head east.
We are in awe of the grandeur here. Huge, overwhelming huge granite mountains.
Since we didn't have reservations we got to the campground office as quickly as we could. We got one site for 2 nights and a third at a different site. Yea! We are set! We have been to Parks where they talk about BEARS. This time the Rangers said the bears DO go through the campgrounds at night. They are looking for food. They suggested we put our food items that aren't in the refrigerator in the Bear Proof locker.....so we did! Extra work, but peace of mind is worth the effort.
Majestic site at the shuttle bus stop. We went to the Visitors Center. Watched a video about the Park and got informations about hikes.
We didn't wait for the shuttle bus but walked a mile to the Ranger led hike about trees. Very interesting. The area has a lot of black oak trees.
Beautiful color. Bears have been seen up in the black oak trees eating the acorns.
These are grinding holes used by the natives to grind acorns for food. The Ranger showed us a live oak tree. I first learned of live oak trees in Florida. Was surprised to see them growing at this altitude. Live oak branches are very resilient. The Ranger said when there are rock slides onto these trees the branches can bounce back like nothing happened. The branches were used for stagecoach axles.
We saw a California laurel bay tree. The leaves are aromatic but generally not used for stews,that is English bay trees. This is the fruit of the laurel bay tree.(looks like an avocado)
We have seen Manzanita growing a lot of places. Glad to have the name of this red barked shrub.
The most prevalent trees in this area are Ponderosa and Incense Cedar. There are some Sequoias that look a lot like Ponderosa pine, but you can see the difference. The Sequoia is not a needle like the pine. Cedar are similar to the Sequoia but flat. We learned fir trees have one needle but pine have multiple needles, except for the single needle pine. Always an exception, right!
On the left, a white alder. Alder leaves don't change color, just drop at the end of the season.
We have seen petroglyphs. This is called arbor glyphs. Chef carved his name on this tree in 1930 and it can still be seen. Can you see the face on the right?
Another arbor glyph on the same tree.
Nearing the end of our hike 20 of us passed two deer eating. We were within 6 to 8 feet of them and they just kept on eating.
We ended by the famous Ahwahnee Lodge completed in 1927.
Lounge is high ceiling, very impressive.
Ornate chandeliers.
John Muir was instrumental in educating the country about the Sierra Nevada mountains (400 MILES long and 60 to 80 MILES wide) and the exquisite nature that should be preserved. He wrote "Everyone needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul alike."
Wow, we have been doing a lot of traveling these past 2 years and 4 months. A lot of our travels have been seeing the beauty and nature of our country. Guess it has given us strength!
A great phot op of the Half Dome after we got off the shuttle bus by our campground. Waiting for the shuttle bus we talked with a lady who had been on the Ranger walk with us. Coincidentally she lives at Sierra Park where we had just spent the last four days. Small world.
Location:Yosemite National Park, CA.
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