Advertisement
Published: September 30th 2007
<-- Check out the video Amy took! There is also a second page of pics so don't miss those!
We left our hotel just outside Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park early Monday morning so that we could get to Yosemite National Park in time to do some sightseeing before darkness fell. We knew we had two days to fit in all that Yosemite had to offer and we had to get a move on!
Our drive to Yosemite was uneventful...I believe there was quite a bit of napping going on for the backseat passengers, but then again, just about anytime we had music on Amy was out like a light! :-) Our first stop was the BEAUTIFUL Glacier Point for, quite literally, a bird's eye view of the Valley, Half Dome, and a few of the park's numerous waterfalls (even though there wasn't much to fall).
From here, we drove for about an hour back into the Valley so that we could check in to our Tent Cabin. Allyn and I ventured into the Reservation Cabin at Camp Curry to get all the info about our cabin's location, the keys, and any other info we might need
to make our stay a pleasant one. The employee told us where our bear locker was located and gave very explicit directions as to what needed to be stored in the bear locker--for our safety and the safety of other campers. Any and every item with a scent needed to be out of our bags, out of our cabin, and secured in the locker. As we waited to check in, there was a looped video showing what a bear could (and will) do to cars to get to food and other scented items. The statistic that the park uses is that about 100 cars per year are damaged by bears--that's almost 2 cars a week!!!!
We didn't want to have that happen to our rented Pacifica (cos
of course we didn't spring for the extra insurance--although looking back, we probably should have because I hit a shovel while driving on the freeway in LA and while Allyn was driving, a bat tried to commit suicide by flying straight into the windshield and an opossum decided to stick his little head up at a most inopportune time) so the rest of the girls were great and made sure all of
Cosmo at Glacier Point
Cosmo's about to get grounded cos he keeps getting too close to the edge.our stuff got out of the car and schlepped it all up to the cabin. I took a most un-earned but hugely necessary nap on the biggest bed in the cabin while they did that. :-/
Now, I think that I should tell you that our cabin was quite good for what it was and for the price we paid. I would stay there again because it's definitely part of the experience...but the whole having to shower in a shower house and keep all my toiletries in the bear locker in between uses got a bit old--and we only stayed two nights! The cabin was quite roomy--for a tent cabin--and had three twin beds and a double bed. It was made of tarps fitted to a wooden frame and was conveniently located mere inches from the next tent cabin so that we could be serenaded at night by the tender snoring produced therein. That was really only a problem the second night though--I think. I sleep like the dead so I really didn't hear a thing and getting to sleep wasn't a problem thanks to my MP3 player.
By the time I woke up, it was dinner time
so we had pizza at a little outdoor place and then did a bit of shopping in the few little stores that were there. If memory serves, we went back to the cabin, got showers and had an early night so we could get an early start in the morning. Lauren was excited to do her hike to Yosemite Falls while Amy, Allyn, and I took the less strenuous option of driving to Tuolumne Meadows and Tioga Pass.
It was FREEZING when we woke up so we all had a bit of a slow start. Lauren headed out first at about 9am and caught the shuttle to the trailhead. We got in the car shortly thereafter and took a great scenic drive, stopping when and where we wanted. We were gone all day and got back to the cabin around 2pm I think. We had planned to meet up with Lauren by about 4pm cos she figured that her hike would take a while and then she wanted to go look at some other shops and attractions. She made it back to the cabin and we headed out to rent bikes so we could bike through the Valley. There
were about 6 miles of paved trails that we could ride and we managed to that before the bike rental place closed for the evening. Unfortunately, this meant that we'd also just about missed "dinner time" in the Valley. We'd hoped to have something really good to eat but ended up eating at another pizza place. This one at least had decent salads for the gluten-free among us!
Lauren had found a great gift shop while she was out so we went there after dinner and shopped for souvenirs before heading back to the cabin for the night. I couldn't wait any longer to take a shower and neither could Lauren so we headed down to the shower house for one last shower. Amy and Allyn decided to wait until the morning so did some packing while we showered.
It wasn't as cold the next morning and we had a TON of stuff to do so we all knew we absolutely HAD to be up and gone early. Lauren and I took a load of stuff out to the car. Allyn went out as well as I returned to the cabin to get another load. When I returned
to the car, they were sort of whisper-yelling that there was a bear just over through the parking lot. Now, Allyn was still using Cosmo and her camera was still up in the cabin so I got sent to get it--mostly cos I didn't want to stick around and see the bears AND because Amy wanted
nothing more than to see a bear on our trip so she of course had to be told about the bear in the parking lot. I went back toward the cabin and saw that Amy had the cabin door open and that all our stuff we were getting ready to put in the car was out of the bear locker. At about this time, I saw a big bear run down the path toward me, turn, and run next to our cabin up into the forest behind it. There was a Yosemite guy chasing it that direction and for some reason, I never really felt in danger. I'm guessing that this is because it sort of happened before I even had a chance to process it and the fact that it was 6:15am and if you know me at all, you know that I
Amy in the clear blue sky
A bit different that Lucy in the sky with diamonds. am the complete opposite of a morning person.
Now, I know that a lot of things can be chalked up to genetics, but this is not one of them. I ran up to the cabin, grabbed Allyn's camera, told Amy there were bears in the parking lot and to grab her camera and take Allyn's to her. She was gone almost before I got done saying that. She had flip-flops on and was running down to the parking lot.
While they were all taking pictures, I decided that I would put all the scented items back into the bear locker, get another load of stuff, and secure the cabin before heading back to the parking lot. When I got back to the parking lot, they had moved the car cos the bear had sort of moved in the direction of our parking space. Amy had a few last things to grab out of the cabin, our cooler had to come out of the bear locker, and I needed to return the keys to check out. Lauren stayed with the car in case it needed to be moved again.
I returned the keys and told the girls that
Half Dome
Amy and Allyn with the Dome I'd meet them at the car so we could get on the road. I get to the car and Amy's no where to be found. Neither Lauren nor Allyn know where she is and I know she's not in the cabin cos I had the keys. A minute or so goes by and Amy pops back into the car. She was all excited that she just saw another bear in the parking lot and was able to take video of it on her camera.
We were finally all together and on the drive out of the park sort of discussed the morning's events. Amy said that she's heard a guy yelling for his dog right before I came up to the cabin. (Let me preface this next part by saying the my sister and I do share the same "not a morning person" gene.) The dog's name was Bear and the guy kept saying, "get out of here, Bear" and things of that nature. Then she sort of got to questioning this cos she remembered that pets were not allowed in the camp. And most pet owners call their pets TO them, not away from them. But whatever, she
Yosemite Valley
You can just make out the pool and a few of the tent cabins in the lower right quadrant of the picture. wanted to see a bear and didn't really worry about it on her run down to the parking lot. :-)
Then Allyn says that she was sort of chased by the momma bear. Turns out that she had two cubs that were up in a tree. The girls watched them climb down and the momma was being protective of the space around her cubs. The bear was periodically charging at people if they got too close and Allyn happened to be with a group of people who the momma deemed "too close." As she was with Cosmo, running fast didn't really happen and one of the guys in this group of people got in his car and she asked if she could as well. She was getting ready to get in when the bear stopped charging. They had all split up to take pics and neither Allyn nor Amy knew where the car was at this point. Allyn finally saw Lauren across the parking lot and headed that direction so she could be safe with someone she knew.
Other than the bears for me, and
because of the bears for everyone else, our time in Yosemite was FANTASTIC!!!
Photo Op
Lauren and Allyn being photogenic as always. I would definitely go again and I recommend it to everyone as a place you have to go at some point in your life. It's awe inspiring and incredible and the pictures just can't do it justice. You'll just have to see it for yourself. If you need holiday planning tips, all you have to do is ask. ;-)
Advertisement
Tot: 0.102s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 11; qc: 26; dbt: 0.0568s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Carolyn
non-member comment
Does a huge water bug and an ant on my bed sheets count as exciting wild life??? Guess not....