Now Yosemite

We had an easy day's drive between Bothe-Nappa State Park and Folsom State Park. We drove

through more vineyards and were struck by the beauty of these fields as we headed toward Sacramento and then just beyond to Folsom. The most dazzling fields of grapes were those with bright yellow mustard blooming between the rows of vines, which were all neatly trimmed and wired. Such labor intensive work for maintaining the vines. The end products of which are the wines that we consume at dinners with friends around open fires while camping or in the snug warmth of our homes.

As we headed toward Sacramento we had some hills through which to climb. The drive was wonderful, although in the hills/mountains we passed reservoirs greatly depleted from years of California drought. Some were well over 50' lower than where we could see the higher waters had been. So much rain would be needed to refill these it would take years of above-average rain to do so.

We skirted Sacramento and headed right for Folsom Prison. Actually, to the town of Folsom where the prison is located and where our next campground was. This was a quasi citified place which was on Folsom Lake, also a mere shadow of its former self. The beach was about the safest you could ever take small children to because the water was no where near the three life guard stands! There was a nice running/mountain biking trail that went along the western shore to the north and then going along the shore to the south a paved trail leading right past the prison as well as 32 miles into downtown Sacramento. It would have been fun to ride if we had been there longer; however we were headed to Yosemite. We do realize that Sacramento has some nice things to visit...... maybe next time.

The drive from Folsom to Yosemite was even better. We headed up off flat lands and into the hills. The hills/mountains were endless winding back and forth black bands that stretched in front of us for miles and miles. We passed through more historic small towns with very western novel names. We stopped just outside Yosemite to view the site of the 2013 fire that burned over 200,000 acres and cost millions of dollars. It was amazing to us to see where the fire went into the park as well.

2013 Rim Fire in Stanislaus National Forrest next to Yosemite.

Once in the park, where we had no reservations, we found that because we were arriving during the week and everything was first come first served that we had a good selection of sites from which to pick. Reservations are not taken until the 19^th of March. When we arrived the campground was less than 50% but it rapidly filled to capacity on Saturday. The sites are stacked upon each other and it is often difficult to tell which is your picnic table. Tenters are all over the place which makes it even more confusing to tell if a site is filled or not. 

All around us are granite walls of the majestic formations everyone knows about...Half Dome and El Capitan to mention the best known. Above our heads loom the canopy created by trees, straight and tall blocking out most of the sunlight until later in the morning. There are ravens or crows in great preponderance here as well. One dares not leave any food out unattended as they will be there after it in a flash. They say the same for other animals in the park as well and require food be put into the bear boxes that grace each campsite if you are tenting or have a soft-sided trailer. 

Upper Yosemite Falls from a distance.

 

 

Again, from a distance, a sense of perspective in nature.

Marty likes black and white, again the upper Yosemite falls.  Wind sweeping the water across the rocks.

We have seen some other birds here too. More Steller's Jays and Saturday, a real treat, a white-headed woodpecker; a bird one is not likely to see anywhere else in the US except in California, Oregon and Washington.

Our first full day in the park we took a hike up to Mirror Lake which is less a lake than a used-to-be lake with the drought that has plagued California for years now. It was a nice hike through boulders and woods with the exception that it is partially paved. There appears to have been no effort made to maintain the paving so it is becoming well-broken up. But it did seem strange to us that it had been paved and we thought that maybe it had been done to protect the trail from the thousands and thousands of people who trek there. (We should say millions and millions who trek there.)

David on Mirror Lake Trail

Dee and Paul on Mirror Lake trail.

There is also a shuttle bus which goes from the campgrounds and visitor centers to many nearby sites but not nearly as extensive as the Island Explorer in Bar Harbor/Acadia.

It is a little bit of a surprise to find there are two grocery stores here in the valley. Both are quite well stocked with foods at a slightly higher price. There are also two places to purchase sporting goods in case you need new boots or a pair of shorts or pants. And there is a post office!

Oh yes, the bears. We've not seen any yet but we did see mule deer on our first morning as they strolled through the campground loop next to ours. But back to the bears. Right next to Paul and Dee's campsite is a large antenna and a metal box below it (with all sorts of locks on it) that is used for monitoring the bears, many of whom have been collared or tagged for tracking. They say that the bears do come into the campground and there are many photos showing them inside cars and trucks, videos showing them ripping windows out to get after coolers inside of vehicles.

Sunday we have hiked to Vernal Falls from the campground. It was about a 4.5 mile trek that seemed to be mostly “up”. The guide book said that there was a 660 ft rise, but we think that was only to the base of the waterfall. The last 100-200 feet were over stone steps some of which were very damp from the waterfall's mist. It was a great hike and a great view!

Some of the steep steps, before we got to the really steep wet steps!

Vernal Falls with a rainbow at the base!

We are enjoying ourselves in this magnificent setting. It is almost difficult to believe that we are here. We'll do more hiking over the coming days to see the waterfalls and get better views of the valley. Then Tuesday, we'll head to Sequoia/Kings Canyon for four more nights. We don't know if there is any Wi-Fi down there; we'll just have to wait and see. Otherwise it may be a while before you hear from us again. After Sequoia/Kings Canyon we head to Death Valley and then on to the southern rim of the Grand Canyon, then to Virginia and finally back in Maine on the 7^th of April (we sure hope that the snow is gone by then).

These feet were made for trekking.