Nature Is Real: Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park Entrance Sign

Yosemite National Park was created in 1980. The park occupies the heart of John Muir's "Range of Light" in the Sierra Nevada. The name means "snowy ridge" in Spanish, and in winter more than 60 feet of snow may accumulate. Yet the Sierra has also been called the gentle wilderness, because extremes of temperature are not great and hiking days of summer are comparatively dry and sunny. Elevations in Yosemite range from 2,000 to more than 13,000 feet, from the rolling oak woodlands of the western slope to the jagged mountain crest, where offspring of the great glaciers that carved the spectacular topography still like in shady hollows above thousands of lakes. Then, to the east, the land abruptly drops away to the apparently endless sagebrush desert of the Great Basin. There are three groves of giant sequoia trees, the largest living things on earth, miles of forests and meadows, and rich and varied collection of wildflowers, wildlife, and history galore. Then there is the incomparable valley itself, Yosemite, surrounded by massive granite domes and spires and blooming waterfalls, and in the summer season, many tourists.

Our Visit to Yosemite

Lyell Fork Creek

When My Wife and I and friends Walt and Mary visited the park in mid-June of 2013 we experienced sensational clear blue skies each day with highs in the low to mid-70's and lows in the 50's. No rain the entire 4 days. We found that if you venture away from the Valley to Tuolume Meadows and the John Muir/Pacific Crest Trail you will find much less traffic and very beautiful trails along with excellent Brown Trout Fly-fishing on the Lyell Fork Creek. On Tioga Road, traveling towards the Tuolume Meadows and the Pacific Crest Trail, there were very scenic views of Yosemite Valley from the East side.

Wildflowers

Yosemite is a hiker's paradise because of its wonderful diversity. At every turn you see something different and beautiful. The Sierra
Nevada range is only about 400 by 70 miles in extent and is mostly gray granite rock, yet every nook and cranny, even stream drainage or mountain peak, is different from the rest. Yosemite has more than 1,300 species of flowering plants, 223 kinds of birds and 77 kinds of mammals. On our visit we had the pleasure of seeing many varieties of beautiful wildflowers all over the park, Giant Sequoias in Mariposa Grove, deer everywhere, wild trout in just about every small steam or brook we encountered and many species of song birds. While we did not see any bears in Yosemite, please note that only black bears reside in the park. The grizzly is now extinct in California. The waterfalls, especially the Upper and Lower Yosemite, as well as Bridalveil, Vernal and Nevada are second to none. Upper Yosemite is the tallest waterfall in North America.

Yosemite Lodge at The Falls

Camping and Lodges
Several campgrounds are available in the Valley along with Yosemite Lodge at the Falls and the award winning Ahwahnee Hotel. We elected to stay at the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls. The rooms were a little dated, but clean and included a stop practically at your front door on the free shuttle bus which would quickly take you to any site in the Valley. We used the bus many times to get to trails, shopping at the shopping village and to various restaurants and a great sandwich deli.

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