Yosemite National Park

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Today started off as a terrible day and then just got worse. Kids were walking around the campground at 2:00 am, making a lot of noise and waking people up - including us. We went down to pay for the campsite and to try and re-up for tonight also. We got the run-around from the rangers. They said I needed to go to the registration office ( a half mile away) and put my name on the list. I actually drove for the first time this whole trip over to the office. I was number 4 on the list. They said I had to wait until 9:30 to know whether or not I could get a site. That was over an hour away. We really didn’t want to sit around waiting, wasting half our day, but as it ended up we did, and all for not. At 9:30 I was told only the first 2 people on the list got sites. The whole system is messed up and the major reason is the rangers run the campsites - it is not a concession like in every other park we have been it.

We decided to do the drive through Yosemite Valley. The scenery was terrific. We went through several tunnels and saw beautiful mountains all around us. We saw Bridalveil Falls but there was hardly any water running in it. We saw the mighty El Capitan which dominates the valley. We were very disappointed with the lack of signage in the park. It was really difficult getting around and the traffic was very heavy. We shouldn’t have arrived here on a weekend - bad move on our part. Half the valley roads are one-way and in several places no cars are allowed - just the shuttles. The shuttles are free, but you are not allowed to park your car with any food that would attract bears, either inside or outside of it. So we missed a lot, because we couldn’t take the shuttles. If you could get a campsite in the morning then you can put all your food stuff into a bear box, but the camping system is not set up that way here. You need to wait to the end of the day to find a site.

We saw Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, or should we say - where they would be if they were flowing. It was bone dry - not a drop fell. We then drove up to Glacier Point about a 36 mile round trip jaunt. We saw the whole valley and beyond from the Washburn Point and Glacier Point. We did see waterfalls off in the distance, but I couldn’t find them on any signs or maps so I couldn’t identify them.

We had lunch at a picnic area because we couldn’t find a restaurant because of the poor signage and the poor maps of the park they give you. We had chicken salad sandwiches and pretzels. While we were eating we looked up and saw several climbers on the rocks on the backside of El Capitan. It was interesting watching them rock climb.

Having seen what we could of the valley we headed out over the Tioga Pass area of the park. Great scenery and not too many sheer drop-offs until the end. We made our third and last attempt at camping at Yosemite at Tuolumne Meadows. Sign said there were sites available. We drove in and the ranger told us we had to drive back out and go to another office and pay and then come back with a piece of paper and then we could see if there was a site. That was the last straw - we wanted out of here.

All in all, Yosemite National Park is fantastic and everybody should see it at least once in their life time, but the chaos that we witnessed on just an ordinary weekend in September, We would not come on any weekend ever and definitely not during the summer. As long as the rangers are running the place, it will always be a hectic mess. Every other National Park we have stayed in is run by concessionaires. All the business interests, camping, stores, etc. are run by professional business people. All the rangers do is enforce the rules of the park. That is why Yosemite is a disaster, because the rangers run everything. They are government employees who do not care.

We drove out of the park on the Tioga Pass and then we hit the steep drop-offs - on my side of course. The scenery was unbelievably spectacular. WE drove out to Mono Lake to see strange tufa spires and knobs of calcium carbonate. We ended our day in Mammoth Lakes, CA and found a campsite at New Shady Rest. We had franks for supper (no beans - we ran out), had a campfire and got onto the internet, first time we had internet at our campsite. That’s why we were able to send out the blogs.

Footnote: We get broadband internet through our Verizon cell phone. If we are in an extended network - it doesn’t work. So usually as we drive though big towns that have Verizon, I am trying to get the blogs out,

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Photos

El Capitan
Famous among rock climbers

Yosemite Falls
If you look really hard you can see were the falls would be if there was any water running through the rocks. I have seen pictures of the falls in spring - you should try and get a picture of them on-line

Driving in the Pass
See the line on the far mountain - that's the road. See whats below the road surface - Help!

We found a waterfall on the Tioga Pass
Have no idea what the name of falls is 0 but surprised to see when were it has been so dry here.

Beautiful Mono Lake
Calcium cabonate tufa, spires and knobs

Comments

[gail]

aggressive rangers
I've been to Yosemite 4 times. Very true, for first timers it can be a little disorienting until you actually explore and find out where everything is. We brought our bikes which is probably the best way to get around. There is a rental shop in Curry Village and somewhere down in the middle of the valley. I don't know how to get to that one by car we rode by on bikes.