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Published: September 6th 2010
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August 27-29: The initial overwhelming impression of Yosemite Valley is that it is like a cathedral in stone. The awesome rocky peaks are all arround and as the sun swings west, every view changes.
Yosemite is one of the most famous of the national parks in the USA, and it was, in fact, the first land set aside, in order to protect the giant sequoia trees in the Mariposa Grove at its southern end. Although Yellowstone was the first declared national park, as with the Sydney/Melbourne rivalry, Yosemite wants to be known as the first.
Yosemite has a terrific set of ranger-led programs for all ages. We were immediately drawn to the talk based on the recent Ken Burns TV series on the National Parks. It was led by none other than Shelton Johnson, an African American park ranger who featured in the Ken Burns series. Shelton was earnest in his hopes that ALL American children would get to national parks. He said that for him, growing up in Detroit, no one ever talked about them, they weren't on the radar of anyone he knew. He gave a fascinating presentation, including about how after the Civil War, several units
Yosemite Valley
Rock walls on both sides
with the diminuitive Yosemite River down the middle of black American soldiers were assigned the duty of protecting Yosemite from the encroaching sheep herders. Another unknown chapter in US history. He has written a novel about this, called "Gloryland". See http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2009/09/gloryland-brings-yosemite-national-park-ranger-shelton-johnson-full-circle4649
The Miwok were the original people of Yosemite, and near the Visitor Center there's a model Miwok Village with a self-guided trail of signs, diaramas and audio. One of the very impressive things about the park system across the board in the USA is the signage -- which is clear and informative on a whole range of topics, including geology, history, wildlife and culture.
Of course, we spent some time visiting the giant sequoias. These trees aren't as tall as the redwoods, but their trunks are much heftier and they live longer. Lots more “board feet” in them, if you're into cutting them down. Of course now they're protected.
A really great thing about Yosemite is that there are free shuttle buses running all around the park. They're very frequent. So once you're there, you needn't use your car at all. This is a help for the air quality in the park, congestion on the roads and at the scenic vista and trailhead parking
Topographic model of Yosemite Valley
If you can make this out, you can see the overall shape of the incredible valley. Yosemite National Park is far bigger than just Yosemite Valley, though. lots, and your gas budget.
Of course, I couldn't not mention the bears! As Joe Reilly mentioned to me last year, “bears” seemed to be a theme in my blog. Well at Yosemite, attention to bear concerns has reached the highest point we ever came across. It's illegal to leave any food at all in your vehicle (TO SAY NOTHING OF YOUR TENT!), even “crumbs on the baby carseat”. Bears have highly sensitive noses and can smell food from afar. The aim is to make the camps bear proof by keeping all food out of reach. (Yet I'm sure those bears can smell people cooking their hamburgers.) So every campsite and every trailhead has steel lockers into which you must put all food, cosmetics, soaps, baby wipes. If you don't, you can be fined and your car can be towed away.
There's a video at the visitor center showing about 100 cars which had been broken into by bears, the metal actually ripped aside. And so far this year the tally is 14 bears hit by cars in Yosemite. There are red bear signs at the roadside where each bear was killed.
For all this, we never
saw a bear in the campground, though we did see deer wandering through, and lots of chipmunks and squirrels. However, as we were driving along, we saw a large mother bear and her mid-sized cub strolling across a rocky clearing—glad we didn't meet them on one of our hikes!
For Michaela Rock, Stone Dresser and their families, I would highly recommend a visit to Yosemite, where rock is the vision. And it would be a good idea for any of the rest of you.
For you Aussies, the US national parks are awash with people from overseas. We camped next to a lovely Czech couple, and everywhere you hear German, French, Spanish, Japanese and many other languages spoken. I listened quietly as an Australian father tempted his twin sons to walk across the shallow river at our campground.
Now, I have so many pictures from Yosemite, be sure to go to “next” or page two of this blog entry. And also remember that if you click or double click on a photo, it should get big on your screen—landscapes are weak in small versions.
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Donna Guthrie
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Interview with a Park Ranger
I think your readers will enjoy this site. Check out MEET ME AT THE CORNER (www.meetmeatthecorner) and the interview with the Park Ranger at Balboa Park in San Diego, California. Children learn about the history of Balboa Park, the Pan America Exhibition and the work of a park ranger. Take a look at the upcoming shows for fall including a visit with author Kathleen Krull, an episode about the history of the banjo and just in time for Veteran's Day, an interview with a World War II Veteran Along with the original content created by the professional staff, MEET ME AT THE CORNER is open to kid- produced content.The current video was submitted by 11 year old Sam. He interviews an animal behaviorist at the Denver Zoo. It is obvious that the episode was written and filmed by Sam but the MMATC staff did a great job of editing and adding photos and links to take the episode to a new level MEET ME AT THE CORNER, Virtual Field Trips for Kids (www.meetmeatthecorner.org) is a series of educational video podcasts for kids ages 6-12. New episodes are uploaded every two weeks, with a Learning Corner of questions and extended activities, a list of recommended books and links to fun websites about each topic. This is a great website for kids, parents, teachers and homeschool families.