Another glorious day in Yosemite

We walked today to Yosemite Falls.  Both the upper and lower falls are dry.  We saw the waterfall's imprint on the stone. It leaves its mark.  We saw the wide stream bed.  Then we walked along the Merced and saw a marker, showing the heights of floods in the park.  The most recent flood was also the biggest.  In January 1997 there was 11 feet of snow on the mountains, and a warm El Nino storm came through, melting the snow and bringing it down into the valley all at once.  The valley flooded to over five feet.  We stood in the valley and tried to imagine that much water, filling the valley, moving between the rock walls.

This marker is on a bridge that crosses the Merced River.

In this park and Yellowstone I have such a sense of history, of the people who created this space and saved it for me, of the many visitors who have walked these paths and looked at these mountains.  I like the old, hand carved furniture and architecture.


This is the guest lounge.


A bench.


Another bench.


Seating for wizards?

This afternoon we went to Yosemite Village and visited the Ansel Adams gift shop.  There were some original photographs to see.  Then we ate soup and cornbread.  We sat outside and had a glass of wine while we waited for a show, "John Muir: Conversation with a Tramp." On our way to the theatre, we saw several bucks grazing.




This one man show by Lee Stetson has been presented at Yosemite since 1983.  He was quite believable.  I wanted to write down lots of quotes, but I just listened.  He ranted against politicians from San Francisco who dammed the Hetch-Hetchy to make a reservoir for the city.  He did not care for hiking either:  "People ought to saunter in the mountains - not hike!" There were many inspiring and humorous stories.  He told about his love for storms.  He climbed up in a tree to experience a windstorm.  He climbed out onto an icy shelf behind a waterfall.  He was quite a character, and we owe him.  

While we've been at Yosemite, we used the free shuttle to get around the park.  Tonight we had a plan to park our car near a meadow, go to dinner and the show, walk back to the car, and gaze at the stars in the meadow.  We knew we would be walking back to the car in the dark, but it seemed like a straight walk on the path beside the road.  When we came out of the show, we moseyed down the path and came to a construction zone.  Hmm.  I did not remember this.  Where was the path?  It was dark, and no one else was about.  We searched around the area and then walked back to the bus stop to check with the driver.  He agreed with George that the path was there, but it curved into the woods a bit due to construction.  So we tried for the third time.  We walked along in the dark, singing, and using a phone for light.  Finally, we did come back to the road, saw drivers and bikers and eventually our car.  We sat out under glorious stars, facing black cliffs.  The reward was worth the stress.  

Tomorrow we are headed to Death Valley National Park.  That is a place known for the dark sky.