On the drive in today, we saw a juvenile black bear. He/she was a tan brown, far paler than the ones we see at home. There are no grizzlies (brown bears) in Sequoia anymore. The last one was shot in 1922. :(
Bill got pictures with the real camera of the bear we saw today, so I'll post those when we get home.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Yosemite pictures from Bill
Bill took some nice shots of the views from our fancy house at Yosemite (first two picts below). The shot of the kids is from this morning, right before we left for Sequoia. They are getting tired, I think. :)
The last two he took on our valley floor tour yesterday. The very last one shows Half Dome nicely. The name is a misnomer, as geologists think it's all there and that passing glaciers may have whittled on it to shave the side a little, but there is no other 'half' somewhere that fell off or anything like that which the name suggests. The next-to-last shot shows a view from above the valley (tunnel stop on the shuttle bus system), and left to right , you can see El Capitan, Half Dome (in the background, dead center), and Bridalveil Fall.
The last two he took on our valley floor tour yesterday. The very last one shows Half Dome nicely. The name is a misnomer, as geologists think it's all there and that passing glaciers may have whittled on it to shave the side a little, but there is no other 'half' somewhere that fell off or anything like that which the name suggests. The next-to-last shot shows a view from above the valley (tunnel stop on the shuttle bus system), and left to right , you can see El Capitan, Half Dome (in the background, dead center), and Bridalveil Fall.
Flowers near and views from our lodge at Sequoia NP
The pink flowers are called pussypaws, because they are soft and poofy like cats' paws. These were found next to the laundromat. We met a nice lady while we were doing our laundry this afternoon. Sam helped her move her loads from the washers to the dryers (without being asked, so sweet). The kids also found pine cones, saw chipmunks, and watched a Stellar's Jay clean up the picnic area. Josie sketched the cones and the trunks of the Sequoia in her journal.
The laundromat was next to the visitors center, and the kids enjoyed seeing the exhibits there and watching films that explained how fire is managed in the Park (with prescribed burns to assist Sequoias with seed release from cones - the fire burns off the resin from around the seeds, a few days after the fire, the cones open up and the seeds fall out - the fire is more helpful than that, but that's a big part of it) and how development in the forest area in the late 1800's and first half of the 1900's damaged the forests, but recent efforts to remove the developed areas have helped reclaim forest space and will hopefully lead to more Sequoias in the future.
The lodge where we are staying is at high elevation, about 7,000'. So, we are lounging around in the room tonight to let our bodies adjust, and hopefully we won't have any problems tomorrow with physical exertion. The pictures of vistas below are shots from our lodge - very nice. We're all in one room here - two queens and a pull-out sofa bed. There's a box fan in the window - it's cool up here on top of this mountain at night, but it warms up fairly well in the daytime - but not so hot that real a/c is needed.
I doubt our puny cameras will come close to capturing the majesty of these trees, but I'll post something tomorrow anyway, as a record for the kids to remember this trip. :)
The laundromat was next to the visitors center, and the kids enjoyed seeing the exhibits there and watching films that explained how fire is managed in the Park (with prescribed burns to assist Sequoias with seed release from cones - the fire burns off the resin from around the seeds, a few days after the fire, the cones open up and the seeds fall out - the fire is more helpful than that, but that's a big part of it) and how development in the forest area in the late 1800's and first half of the 1900's damaged the forests, but recent efforts to remove the developed areas have helped reclaim forest space and will hopefully lead to more Sequoias in the future.
The lodge where we are staying is at high elevation, about 7,000'. So, we are lounging around in the room tonight to let our bodies adjust, and hopefully we won't have any problems tomorrow with physical exertion. The pictures of vistas below are shots from our lodge - very nice. We're all in one room here - two queens and a pull-out sofa bed. There's a box fan in the window - it's cool up here on top of this mountain at night, but it warms up fairly well in the daytime - but not so hot that real a/c is needed.
I doubt our puny cameras will come close to capturing the majesty of these trees, but I'll post something tomorrow anyway, as a record for the kids to remember this trip. :)
Arrived in Sequoia National Park
We have arrived at Sequoia and have checked into our room at Wuksachi Lodge. Pictures to follow. We've seen some huge trees from the car already, and are looking forward to some nice hikes tomorrow to get up close to these beautiful trees, which are the largest living organisms.
We had to wait a couple of hours for our room to be ready, so we went to the visitors center, where they had educational displays, a market, and a laundromat. We did a load of clothes! Yay, clean clothes!
We're sitting in a very nice restaurant now (the only thing open) waiting for a delicious meal. We're ready!
We don't have cell service if any kind here, but they do have a good wireless Internet system, so you can message me/us on FB if you really need to reach us.
We had to wait a couple of hours for our room to be ready, so we went to the visitors center, where they had educational displays, a market, and a laundromat. We did a load of clothes! Yay, clean clothes!
We're sitting in a very nice restaurant now (the only thing open) waiting for a delicious meal. We're ready!
We don't have cell service if any kind here, but they do have a good wireless Internet system, so you can message me/us on FB if you really need to reach us.
Yosemite - Special Cabin
We totally scored with our cabin upgrade. You would never know the light/dark difference between the two cabin types we've stayed in by their names. The "tent cabin" we stayed in last night was not roughing it by any stretch - off the ground, electricity, a light, actual beds. Any other camping place (that doesn't drop into the 20's at night) would do well to offer this kind of accommodation. By contrast, the "special cabin" with "hard sides" is a freaking actual house, isolated from everything, with it's own bathroom and shower, nice towels, TV and DVD player - tonight has turned into family movie night, with Star Wars as the selected feature. And it has a fire place and wood should we get cold - but I don't think we will. I can't begin to fully describe how COMPLETELY different our two 'cabin' experiences here have been. We were blown away when we walked up to this place and into it. It's super posh. Wow. How lucky can we be?! SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRREEEE!!!!!!!!!!! :)
Oh yeah, and our view from the porch? Half Dome!! Dang, that's awesome.
Oh yeah, and our view from the porch? Half Dome!! Dang, that's awesome.
Yosemite Visitors Center, Ansel Adams Gallery
After the tour and the kids getting their junior ranger badges, we walked through the visitors center, which has very good displays explaining how Yosemite was formed (short version: igneous rock from magma became granite, tectonic plate movement pushed granite to surface).
We walked through the Ansel Adams Gallery - beautiful pictures. We saw the film "Spirit of Yosemite" in the theatre, then had a delicious pizza for dinner. We are now headed back to Curry Village to get the keys to our new digs tonight, hopefully a shower for everyone, followed by a better night's sleep. ;)
Yosemite is amazing, huge, and cannot be seen completely in a week's time, much less two days. But, we have done what we could, and hopefully the kids will have a chance to come back someday, maybe with their own kids.
We walked through the Ansel Adams Gallery - beautiful pictures. We saw the film "Spirit of Yosemite" in the theatre, then had a delicious pizza for dinner. We are now headed back to Curry Village to get the keys to our new digs tonight, hopefully a shower for everyone, followed by a better night's sleep. ;)
Yosemite is amazing, huge, and cannot be seen completely in a week's time, much less two days. But, we have done what we could, and hopefully the kids will have a chance to come back someday, maybe with their own kids.
Yosemite Valley Floor Tour
We got on a flatbed truck (my term, they call it a tram) and saw the sights from the valley floor and learned from a park ranger a little about the geology and history of YNP. As we were preparing to load, an older gentleman asked the kids how they liked Yosemite. They told him they loved it. He gave them each a dollar coin and they smiled big. Papa (my Dad) gives them dollar coins a lot, so they knew exactly what it was. We took their picture with the man and I got his email address and promised I'd send him the picture. People are nice.
One of the stops was a restroom break, but there was only one hole (literally, a hole in the ground with a toilet placed over it, for the ladies' convenience, I suppose). The ranger said that because of how many people there were in our group, the girls could stay in line, but the boys would have to go elsewhere. So, Bill and Mitch peed behind a tree in Yosemite. I'm pretty sure she shouldn't have allowed that. Anyway, on their way back from the woods, Mitch was carrying a huge pine cone. Well, the girls would not be outdone, so they went and found big cones, too.
The ranger pointed out climbers as we passed several points along the way. They looked like tiny specks on El Capitan. The average climber takes 3-5 days to scale its face. They sleep on the ropes, they eat, pee, and poop up there suspended. They also have to pack in all the gear they'll need (150lbs worth, typically) and pack out all of that plus whatever wastes (biological and otherwise) that create during their climb. She said climbing is one of the safest activities to do in Yosemite - they only lose 1-3 per year. They lose far more to accidents on the roads, water incidents, and other random accidents. And, anyone can climb at any time - no permit is required, and no demonstration of skill or ability is required. I'm surprised they don't at least make people check in and give their intended location and length of stay. The last picture below, of El Capitan, has several tiny climbers and a red cot platform near 2/3 of the way to the top where someone will sleep. She said the climbers were easier to spot at night, when they have their headlamps on.
The kids impressed the ranger with their questions, so after the tour, she made them junior rangers. :)
One of the stops was a restroom break, but there was only one hole (literally, a hole in the ground with a toilet placed over it, for the ladies' convenience, I suppose). The ranger said that because of how many people there were in our group, the girls could stay in line, but the boys would have to go elsewhere. So, Bill and Mitch peed behind a tree in Yosemite. I'm pretty sure she shouldn't have allowed that. Anyway, on their way back from the woods, Mitch was carrying a huge pine cone. Well, the girls would not be outdone, so they went and found big cones, too.
The ranger pointed out climbers as we passed several points along the way. They looked like tiny specks on El Capitan. The average climber takes 3-5 days to scale its face. They sleep on the ropes, they eat, pee, and poop up there suspended. They also have to pack in all the gear they'll need (150lbs worth, typically) and pack out all of that plus whatever wastes (biological and otherwise) that create during their climb. She said climbing is one of the safest activities to do in Yosemite - they only lose 1-3 per year. They lose far more to accidents on the roads, water incidents, and other random accidents. And, anyone can climb at any time - no permit is required, and no demonstration of skill or ability is required. I'm surprised they don't at least make people check in and give their intended location and length of stay. The last picture below, of El Capitan, has several tiny climbers and a red cot platform near 2/3 of the way to the top where someone will sleep. She said the climbers were easier to spot at night, when they have their headlamps on.
The kids impressed the ranger with their questions, so after the tour, she made them junior rangers. :)
Yosemite - Mirror Lake
After breakfast, we did an easy hike to Mirror Lake. Even though the water level is low, there was still a spot where you could get a nice shot of El Capitan with its reflection in the water. When the water level is higher, you can walk a little further around and get Half Dome in a reflection, but not today. It's still beautiful, as is. Sights: lupine (looks blue in the picture, but it was actually purple, so pretty - a whole patch of them just off the trail), squirrels, ravens, blue lizard, mother duck and ducklings, red-wing blackbird, trail horses.
The Mirror Lake hike is one I remembered keenly from my solo trip here in the summer of 1998 (as a graduation gift to myself, Bill was in summer school at Ole Miss working on his degree and graciously gave me his blessing for a solo trip). It was a great trip, but I wished he could be with me, as I knew he'd appreciate the park's beauty and grandeur. It is a dream realized for me, to be back here with Bill and the added extra special bonus of three awesome kids. When I did the Mirror Lake trail 14 years ago, I got the famous picture of El Capitan in reflection, and not but a few seconds later a mother duck and her ducklings swam through, causing a ripple in the water, of course, and making the reflection somewhat less mirror like. I've recounted this story a number of times to Bill, but he was tolerating another today when we walked up to the same spot. Right as I finished the story today, a mother duck and her ducklings swam by, in the same spot, in the same direction! We got a laugh out of that funny coincidence.
We came back to our tent cabin and packed up our stuff for the move to the better cabin (we're assuming it'll be better, can't see how it'd be worse). The bell person will come and move our bags when the new place is ready. It will be a hard-sided cabin, so we don't have to put our scented items (food and toiletries) in a bear box outside, everything can be in the cabin with us. Yay!
We caught lunch at the grill at Curry Village and now we're on the shuttle over to Yosemite Lodge, where we'll board onto an open-air tour vehicle (it looks like a flatbed trailer with benches added) to do a 2-hr valley tour.
We have been blessed with such nice weather on this trip. Can't believe how lucky we've been. Maybe we got all of our travel weather issues resolved with last year's tsunami adventure on the Big Island. ;)
The Mirror Lake hike is one I remembered keenly from my solo trip here in the summer of 1998 (as a graduation gift to myself, Bill was in summer school at Ole Miss working on his degree and graciously gave me his blessing for a solo trip). It was a great trip, but I wished he could be with me, as I knew he'd appreciate the park's beauty and grandeur. It is a dream realized for me, to be back here with Bill and the added extra special bonus of three awesome kids. When I did the Mirror Lake trail 14 years ago, I got the famous picture of El Capitan in reflection, and not but a few seconds later a mother duck and her ducklings swam through, causing a ripple in the water, of course, and making the reflection somewhat less mirror like. I've recounted this story a number of times to Bill, but he was tolerating another today when we walked up to the same spot. Right as I finished the story today, a mother duck and her ducklings swam by, in the same spot, in the same direction! We got a laugh out of that funny coincidence.
We came back to our tent cabin and packed up our stuff for the move to the better cabin (we're assuming it'll be better, can't see how it'd be worse). The bell person will come and move our bags when the new place is ready. It will be a hard-sided cabin, so we don't have to put our scented items (food and toiletries) in a bear box outside, everything can be in the cabin with us. Yay!
We caught lunch at the grill at Curry Village and now we're on the shuttle over to Yosemite Lodge, where we'll board onto an open-air tour vehicle (it looks like a flatbed trailer with benches added) to do a 2-hr valley tour.
We have been blessed with such nice weather on this trip. Can't believe how lucky we've been. Maybe we got all of our travel weather issues resolved with last year's tsunami adventure on the Big Island. ;)
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