Finally Yosemite National Park

We have traveled south from Oregon for 8 years, but we are usually too late or way too early to visit Yosemite National Park--but not this year. We made it a point to spend some time here at a park that has until now been elusive to us. We stayed at the Escapee Park, Sierra Nevada in Coarsegold, CA just a few miles from the south entrance to the park. We took the Jeep and explore south to north, west to east and now know that we did not give ourselves enough time to truly explore this most wondrous of this national park.

Not just a grand Valley...but a shrine to human foresight, strength of granite, power of glaciers, the persistence of life, and the tranquility of the High Sierra. Yosemite National Park, one of the first wilderness parks in the United States, is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, we discovered deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and so much more. We found this and more…beauty, tranquility, history, hiking trails, and photo opportunities everywhere we turned.

The history includes that the Ahwahneechee lived here for generations, followed by the arrival of Europeans in the mid-1800s. The rugged terrain challenged many early travelers, with just a few—only 650 from the mid-1850s to mid-1860s—making the journey to Yosemite Valley by horseback or stagecoach. By 1907, construction of the Yosemite Valley Railroad from Merced to El Portal eased the journey, thereby, increasing visitation. Today, 3.5 million people enter the park’s gates to explore and it is now necessary to protect the fragile environment from those that just want to witness this beauty up close and personal. We learn from the stories of those who walked Yosemite’s trails before us, allowing appreciation of their lasting footprints that led to conscious preservation.