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Yosemite (Sierra ) Reflections 2018 - Part 1

Close your eyes and picture this; it's early evening, a cool crisp breeze in the Western Sierras, relaxing in the parlor of Wawona Hotel, masquerading as the Big Trees Hotel, which opened in 1879, a baby grand in the corner, at the keyboard, piano man, Tom Bopp asks,

"Any requests?"

"Do you know any Cole Porter?"

He winked and smiled, "I could play Cole Porter all night." Then he launched into:

"When the little bluebird
Who has never said a word
Starts to sing "Spring, spring"
When the little bluebell
At the bottom of the dell
Starts to ring, ding ding
When the little blue clerk
In the middle of his work
Starts a tune to the moon up above
It is nature; that's all
Simply telling us to fall in love."

"Birds do it, bees do it
Even educated fleas do it
Let's do it; let's fall in love."


That melody stayed with me for the rest of the week. As it will be with you throughout this blog post.

As you will see, this year's annual Sierra adventure completely contrasts our previous trips. This year, Lori and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary; we've been married for 30 years. But we've heard that the 50th is such a lovely celebration, so we decided to celebrate early!

We fell in love all over again - with Yosemite National Park, the luxury and splendor of camping in a Victorian Lodge, not a tent . . . 

"In Spain, the best upper sets do it
Lithuanians and Letts do it
Let's do it; let's fall in love."

Our first day was love at first sight, or should I say early light. We strolled among living giants. Capturing photos of those grand old trees like millions before us had done. During a previous Yosemite trip, we had only visited the trees at lower elevations; Bachelor and Three Graces and the famous Grizzly Giant. But, by climbing to a higher peak, we finally discovered the Mariposa Grove. A grove of mammoth trees scattered abundantly along the mountainside.

Relax, don't drive the winding mountain roads; the Big Trees Lodge has a shuttle from the Grove entrance directly back to the hotel. Our shuttle driver informed us, "the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia trees had been closed for two years, undergoing a $45 million renovation. The park service just reopened it earlier this year."

The ride from the hotel took about 30 minutes. "No longer can tourists drive up to the grove's entrance, elevation 5,600 feet? A parking lot with a lovely gift shop, information center, and restrooms now guard the entrance. Shuttles transport guests from the parking lot to a beautifully built entrance with railed wooden walkways to provide access for the handicapped and keep people from walking up to the trees and disturbing their delicate, shallow root structure. Looking to the driver's side, you will see a Sequoia we call "Bigfoot." It's as if Disney himself had set up the attraction. 

We enjoyed a leisurely hike, the seven-mile loop, to Wawona Point, elevation 6,810 feet. The weather was cool, the air fresh and crisp. Shiny new signposts with complete maps and directional markers provided easy directions. And Lo-and-behold, when nature called dramatically, there were restrooms, at the Galen Clark Cabin, with flush toilets to relieve the pressure. No hole digging or squatting is required! A complete renovation.

"The Dutch in old Amsterdam do it
Not to mention the Finns
Folks in Siam do it; think of Siamese twins
Some Argentines without means do it
People say in Boston, even beans do it
Let's do it; let's fall in love."


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