CATCHING UP: YOSEMITE 5/05

Well, as Lee-Pi has pointed out in a recent email, it's been a long time since the last post. Not that anyone has noticed, apparently, until Lee got free internet access and ran out of porn to view. So, what's happened in the last year or so?

Back in May (of '05!) we took several days (over Mother's Day weekend: see the flowers on the table) and went tent camping at Yosemite. We've had that tent for over 30 years, but haven't used it in at least ten. Of course, the instructions have long since disappeared, so it was a nice puzzle figuring out how to rig it. That time of year, and after a big snow year, the falls were spectacular, and running in places that you don't normally see any water at all. Snow was on the top of the rim and surrounding mountains, while we alternated between rain and bright sun on the valley floor. Unfortunately, some of the rain came at night, with wind, and with the temps dropping below freezing. Much fun had at 3:00 a.m. tripping around the tent with a monsoon blowing, trying to refasten the plastic tarp we had spread over the tent. Ice was on the car the next morning, and the socks I had spread out the night before retained a remarkably sound L-shape when picked up. If we ever needed any final incentive to go the RV route, that night was it. We made some longing gazes over to the RV's across the way: lights, dry inside, heat. The bright side was that we almost had the park to ourselves. The road to Mirror Lake was virtually deserted when we walked it. We could go quite a ways without seeing another soul. In Yosemite Valley?? That's Nevada Falls in the pic with me in the red poncho. It was really roaring. On the way up to the park, we stayed one night in Oakhurst at a very nice B&B, the Oak Cottage. Great breakfast, resident cat, and garden gnomes. Who could ask for more?







We were pretty lucky in our timing. The day we were leaving was bright and sunny. The heat accelerated the snowmelt and, with the heavy rains the night before, there was a pretty good flood that came through the valley, trapping a lot of folks, including some who had the misfortune of having to bivouac at the Ahwanee. Rough life.