Yosemite 2018

We had been in Yosemite National Park maybe 30 years ago or more. So, since we were reasonably close, we decided it was time to revisit.

We all learned that Yellowstone National Park is the first US National Park established. But we learned that Yosemite was actually the first attempt at a National Park. Without the federal mechanism to make it happen, on June 30 1864, Abraham Lincoln gave the federally owned Yosemite Valley and the nearby Mariposa Big Tree Grove to the State of California “upon the express conditions that the premises shall be held for public use, resort and recreation.” It wasn’t until 1872 that the federal laws were in place to allow for a National Park to be established.

We headed to the Mariposa Big Tree Grove, that we don’t believe we have visited before. The Grove is a spectacular arrangement of giant Sequoias, which we didn’t expect here inside Yosemite. The naturalist John Muir was a particular fan of this part of Yosemite.

We stumbled on Lee Stetson, who has done an hour conversation with John Muir at the visitor center for the last 35 years. Tonight was a conversation around his love of the Hetch Hetchy Valley, which in 1913 as a result of the Raker Act, the US Congress and President Woodrow Wilson granted the city of San Francisco the power to turn the valley into a “water tank” in the words of Muir. We visited the O’Shaughnessy Dam and gazed out at what was left of the Hetch Hetchy Valley above the 400 or so feet of water, and shared our sentiments with President Wilson and the 1913 Congress.

Luck would have it that the Pacific Crest Trail actually passes through Yosemite near the Eastern entrance. We headed there and knocked off another 5 or so miles, which again was also following the John Muir Trail through the Park. No bears, no foxes, but a really nice stroll along the PCT that made the Woman smile.

The scenery was awesome in the Yosemite Valley, gazing at El Capitan, and Half Dome. We managed to take in all of the Valley including the Glamping they offered in the shadow of Half Dome. Tents with hard wood floors and all the amenities you need, all within the boundaries of the National Park.

BTW, this is what a pine cone fr

om a giant Sequoia looks like.

Talk to you soon!