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Published: June 13th 2017
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Geo: 37.8772, -119.727
Day Three: Monolith
"It was like lying in a great solemn cathedral." Teddy Roosevelt about Yosemite.
We left San Francisco in traffic and headed east through Oakland and Berkley on our way to California's Central Valley. It was raining, which made photographs challenging.
Nicole gave us some history of the area and then some history on Yosemite. The Central Valley is referred to as the great food basket of the world. The Valley produces many food items: almonds, walnuts, persimmons, strawberries, peaches, citrus and date palms, among others. We stopped at the Oakdale Cheese Factory where folks bought fresh cheeses and nuts, mostly for the journey.
We wandered through a lot of small towns and then stopped in Jamestown, famous for its steam railroad. Many a movie (“My Little Chickadee”, “High Noon”😉 and TV episode (Petticoat Junction) was filmed here on its famous rail cars. We took the train to nowhere – just an opportunity to ride an old RR car and have a box lunch. This is the first time this town is doing a Polar Express excursion (one of 44 in the US) for the little ones, so we saw some of the props and scenery along the way. Toward the back were first class rail cars with wood paneling and stained glass windows. You can see why Hollywood loves this place and its railroad.
Nicole filled us in on some of the background of the 1849 Gold Rush. It seems a man named James Marshall, who was a sawmill operator in nearby Coloma on the American River, found gold in the river in 1848. He reported it to his employer, John Sutter, who asked everyone to keep it quiet but few did. News started to creep out. Sam Brannon shouted it out in San Francisco and the Gold Rush was on.
Folks abandoned San Francisco and headed to the Central Valley. People came to the West Coast by sailing around Cape Horn. Some crossed the isthmus at Panama by foot then caught a boat. But most came in wagon trains. The most famous – the Donner party – tried a short cut, lost time, and many died. And those who didn't die ate the remains of those who did.
We took the high road into Yosemite, and will take the low road out on Wednesday. The great thing about the high road: there was snow! How fun it was to have this magnificent park dusted with snow.
Yosemite Valley floor is about 1.5 hours from the entrance. We rode the ridge for quite a while, enjoying the pines, taking in the snow, and then heading down to the valley, with our first glimpses of El Capitan and Yosemite Falls. The size of the granite slabs, and the way they drop so dramatically to the valley floor, is fascinating. The valley is so far below the ridge that there is a huge temperature difference. The valley rarely gets snow – there were just minor patches here and there, compared to several inches up on top.
We checked into The Ahwahnee, the most luxurious of the National Park hotels. It's gorgeous (built in 1927) and elegant and all decked out for Christmas. There are decorated trees everywhere, poinsettias, wreaths, fireplaces with fires in them. It is magical.
I grabbed my camera and headed outdoors to get photos of the hotel with the snow-capped granite behind it. My camera is loving this place. It is truly magnificent.
Dinner was in the Ahwahnee Dining room. We had our choice of four entrees from a limited menu.
Mine, the prime rib, was adequate at best. The vegetables were less so.
Following dinner, The Ahwahnee put on a Christmas concert, with a troupe out of San Francisco with wondrous voices. It turns out the chorale makes up the cast for the Bracebridge dinner tomorrow night.
Tomorrow is a big day – lecture by Ansel Adams' son, touring Yosemite and the black tie Bracebridge dinner tomorrow night. Can't wait.
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susan fitzgerald
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Tommie, Again I am living vicariously through your trips. I have not been to that area of California in 20 years. Please keep your pictures and comments coming.