Yosemite Circa 1997

The last time R and I visited Yosemite National Park was in June 1997 (the summer after the valley had flooded). We flew out to California for a college friend's wedding and decided to make a vacation out of it, celebrating our 2nd anniversary by visiting San Francisco, Yosemite, Sacramento, and Monterey. Here are some pics so that you can see what has changed (us) and what hasn't (Half Dome) over the past 15 years!

It's a Dangerous Place!

A week after we got home from Yosemite, the news broke about a handful of confirmed cases of hantavirus contracted by people who stayed in Curry Village. To date, two of these visitors have died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Apparently what they have in common is that they all stayed in the signature tent cabins back in June.

*NOT* a signature tent cabin!

From One Mountain to Another

M and J wanted to get up early this morning. Why? To squeeze in one last hike before we left Yosemite? So that we could drive over Tioga Pass as an alternative route home? Don't be silly. Of course not! They wanted to hit the road early so that we would have time to stop by Magic Mountain. Good thing smart mom figured as much and brought our passes with us!

Down in the Valley

After our morning bike ride, we came back to our cabin to fix ourselves some lunch. While eating out on our porch, we drew a big crowd -- stellar jays and lots of fat squirrels that had absolutely no fear of people. Once we finished eating, we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon exploring more of Yosemite Valley. So we hopped onto the shuttle and headed over to the Happy Isles Nature Center first, mainly for M and me to pick up another passport stamp.

Two-Wheeled Adventures

It was still hot inside the cabin when we went to bed last night, so we slept with the windows wide open. Every time someone turned over in their sleep, the beds would creak and I would wake up, convinced that Yogi and Boo Boo were trying to get at our food. (Yep, call me a city girl!) By early morning, it had gotten pretty chilly, so we definitely made use of the extra blankets in the room. No complaints, though - I'd gladly take cold over hot at any time!

Big Trees and Big Rocks

Since today was a summer weekend day, our goal was to get inside the park early to try and avoid the crowds. After a quick “breakfast included” at our hotel, we loaded up and checked out – we have this routine down-pat from last summer’s road trip! Driving through the foothills up into the mountains on winding Highway 41 meant that I was the designated driver.

Wanna Get Away?

School starts next week! School starts next week. (Exclamation point from me and R, but just a plain ol' period from those still needing to receive an education.) After a busy and stressful couple of weeks at work, I had hoped to take a quick trip somewhere before the end of summer. Initially I was looking at visiting some of the NPS sites east of San Francisco (plus there's another Six Flags in the same area where we could use our passes), but those sites are only open for tours on certain days (one of which requires 2 weeks advance reservation for security clearance), and that just wouldn't work with our schedule. :(