THE BEST IS YET TO COME...

Friday, August 12, 2011

Thu, 8/12/11
KOA, Coarsegold, CA: Made another foray into Yosemite today. Only this time we parked in the lot by the old chapel and then took the free shuttle around the valley. The forest fire that’s going on seemed worse today. More smoke. The shuttle worked out very well. We saw a lot more than we did when we tried to drive around and find places to park. Stopped at the Ahwahnee Lodge for lunch. A beautiful stone and cedar lodge at the end of the valley surrounded by granite spires. After lunch I bought a DVD on rock climbing at the gift shop and we continued on the shuttle to the trail head for Vernal Falls. My hiking boots were in the truck and I only had my Keds on, plus I was carrying my camera and the DVD I just bought. Mike was carrying his camera also. The trail to the bridge is only a mile. We had planned on going that far where the falls come into view and then come back. But it got steeper and steeper. And a lot of people. So I turned around but Mike went on. I went back down and sat talking to a guy who teaches archeology at Vassar. He was waiting for his wife and others to come back down. Mike came back and we headed for the shuttle back to our parking space. It’s around 5:30 by now and the traffic was bumper-to-bumper heading out of the park. By the time we drove back to the entrance it was 7:30 and the road was open to the Mariposa Grove, so we drove up there. We thought the redwoods were big? The Sequoias are much bigger. I don’t think they’re taller, but bigger around. Walked around there for a while, awed by the size of these trees. Then drove back to our park. A pretty drive with the almost-full moon out. It must be beautiful in Yosemite valley with the moonlight washing over everything.

Mike and John Muir

The fireplace in the Ahwahnee Lodge

The other side of the fireplace shown above--huge!

Beautiful Yosemite Valley

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

KOA Coarsegold, CA: Drove up near the Yosemite National Park entrance to take the historic old logging train. Boarded at 12:30 and wound through the Sierra National Forest amid the fragrant pines. A beautiful day for it—mid-80s up in the mountains. The steam engine was very unusual in that it had worm gears or something to turn the wheels. Very different. It looked like a corkscrew or something. Back in the logging days, they ran a flume from up in the mountains all the way down to Madera. 54 miles! Some of the workers used to ride down this flume in little boats at speeds of over 50 mph. I’m sure they had to change their underwear after that ride! After that we drove up over the mountains to Bass Lake. A beautiful blue lake surrounded by pine forested mountains. Drove around this pretty lake checking out some of the homes and little cottages clustered around the shore. On the way home we stopped at a fruit stand and bought some sweet corn, cherries, plums, and peaches. Back home and had steaks and sweet corn for dinner. 92 down here.

The Sugar Pine Railroad

Pretty Bass Lake

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

KOA, Coarsegold, CA: Decided to just kick back today after the hoards of people yesterday. So, after relaxing for most of the day I thought, we ought to at least clean the mini-blinds in the bedroom. So, we did. And after much angst and teeth gnashing we got the job done. They’re hard to get down, and even harder to put back up. After finishing this lovely job, Mike suggested “…wanna go get a drink?” Sounded really good, so we drove a couple of miles to the casino and had a couple of drinks and gambled a little. Had dinner at a little seafood restaurant in Oakhurst and then came back. 95 today under a pristine cerulean sky.

Merced River--Yosemite Valley

Yosemite National Park

Monday, August 8, 2011

Yosemite

KOA Coarsegold, CA: Drove to Yosemite this morning. It took 40 minutes to get to the south entrance gate. Wanted to stop at the sequoia grove right by the entrance, but the parking lot was full. A harbinger of things to come. A beautiful drive on yet another twisty, windy road through the Sierra National Forest and up over the mountains. The first view of the valley below and the stunning granite monoliths came just as we came out of a tunnel. Lucked out and got a place to park at a turnout and took some pictures. Unfortunately, there’s a forest fire at glacier point so it was very hazy with smoke. The Yosemite Valley is breathtaking with the Merced River flowing through it and the huge granite formations all around. Very cathedral like. But…there were SO MANY PEOPLE! You want a restroom? There’s a line for that. You want a place to park? There’s a line for that. And, you want something to eat? There are lots of lines for that. Those people that went over the falls a few weeks ago—I think they jumped! We wanted to hike the trail to Vernal Falls (which is where those people went over), but the road was closed. Not sure why. I drove back. It took an hour to get from the valley floor back to the south gate and 50 minutes to get back to our park. We’ll go back and this time park (if there are any spaces) and take the free shuttle through the valley.

Our first view of Yosemite Valley

Bridal Veil Falls

Closer look at Bridal Veil Falls

Yosemite Valley

View of Yosemite Upper and Lower Falls

This little chapel is the oldest building in the valley.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Coarsegold

KOA, Coarsegold, CA: Slept in a little this morning and then sat outside in the balmy temps watching the weekenders packing up to leave. After talking to our neighbor we decided to wait until tomorrow to go to Yosemite, since there was about a 20 minute wait to just get into the park. We were afraid it would be really crowded. You’d think the little darlings would be getting close to getting back to school by now. After lunch we drove to the little town of Coarsegold, founded in 1852, and then on to Oakhurst. Coarsegold has a population of over 11,000 and Oakhurst 13,000. But Coarsegold is tiny and Oakhurst has a much bigger presence. A pretty area here in the rugged foothills. On the way back we indulged in some ice cream and then checked out the casino just a couple of miles from our park. Back home and relaxed outside reading for a while. 92 today.

The pretty foothills in the haze.

A buck we encountered in a residential area.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

KOA, W. Sacramento, CA, to KOA, Coarsegold, CA: Left this morning at around 9:30 and arrived in Coarsegold at 2:30. Took Rt. 99 south through the San Joaquin Valley to Madera and then took Rt. 145 east to Rt. 41 north. Back in the golden hills with the Sierra Nevada mountains looming in the distance. It’s really pretty here in the foothills. In places the hills are covered with these low, bushy plants in pastel shades of pinks and mauves. Very different and quite pretty. After getting set up we sat outside reading for a while. 94 here in Coarsegold. We’re just south of Yosemite.

Vietnam War Memorial--Capitol Grounds, Sacramento

Assembly Chamber--State Capitol, Sacramento

Senate Chamber--State Capitol, Sacramento

Friday, August 5, 2011

Sacramento

KOA, W. Sacramento, CA: Drove into downtown Sacramento this morning. Parked a few blocks from the capitol building and then headed out walking. The capitol is very dramatic with its park-like setting and gardens which surround the building. Went inside and checked out the Assembly and Senate chambers. Wandered around the capitol a while more, then walked a few more blocks to the governor’s mansion—a huge Victorian house built in 1877. The last governor to live there was Ronald Regan who only lived there 3 months. Arnold lived in a suite at the Hyatt across the street, and Governor Brown currently resides in a loft apartment above the Chinese restaurant P. F. Chang’s. We had lunch there after touring the mansion. Then headed back and picked up some groceries. Sat outside reading for a while. Tomorrow we leave for Yosemite for 10 days. 92 here today. The weather is really great here. Warm during the day, but in the evening it cools down a lot—almost chilly. Great!