National Parks Passport - Part 5 : Yosemite National Park (CA)

Located in the east central region of California across Sierra Nevada Mountains, Yosemite is emblematic amongst all the other National Parks in the US. Masterpeice of mountains and valleys attracts visitors allover the world. "The radiance in some places is so great as to be fairly dazzling.... Every crystal, every flower, a window opening into heaven, a mirror reflecting the creator" - That's how John Muir the whole and soul behind Yosemite describes it!!

Spread across 750K Acres, Yosemite attracts around 4Million visitors annually.  This is a masterpiece by Nature, famous for granites uplift creating a 400 miles range of mountains what we know today as “The Sierra Nevada” and it’s still growing. Cut canyons due to the water force as deep as 3000Ft. Million years of carving by ice and glaciers turned out to be a beautiful gift by the nature to the world - “Yosemite National Park”. 

Tunnel View at Yosemite National Park with a Bridal Veil Falls

2018 happened to be a year of National Parks for us!! With planned and unplanned trips we covered major national parks in the state of California. Visit to Yosemite has to be well planned and rather a year in advance task from accommodations point of view.  One needs to be proactive atleast a year advance to get a booking in Yosemite Valley!! Or atleast 6 to 8 months in advance to spot the best locations. Despite of 9 months advance booking we could just get an AirB&B inside the park in Wawona area, very close to the Glacier Point but not in the valley!! This is the popularity of Yosemite and an evidence of it's craze amongst visitors! 

Yosemite can be reached by road via CA120E the closest route or CA152E or CA140E. 

Closest domestic airport is located at: 

• Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH) 42 miles
• Merced Airport (MCE) 71.4 miles. 

International airports are located at:

• Fresno-Yosemite International (FAT) 64.8 miles.
• Oakland International (OAK) 150.3 miles.
• San Francisco International (SFO) 169.2 miles.
• San José International (SJC) 187.5 miles.

Accommodations, Park/weather alerts, Park information, Ranger Programs, Tour bookings, all and everything about Yosemite can be found at:

https://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm 

Snow chains are required during Winter season. Some of the lookout points may not be available due to the adverse weather conditions. Tioga Road/ Tioga Pass is closed during winter from October end and generally opens up for the visitors during early summer. This pass connects Mammoth Lakes to Yosemite Valley. Which more of an eastern entrance to the Park. West Entrance is pretty popular amongst visitors as they can enjoy the splendid view of Yosemite valley after coming out from the famous " Wawona Tunnel" also known as "Tunnel View". This is must stop Vista Point for everyone. It's a breath taking view of El Capitan, Bridal Veil Falls and Half Dome. This Vista changes every season to show something new but the best season to see Tunnel View is early Spring when Bridal Veil is at it's peak flow and during winter when the granite domes are caped with mist and snow. 

There are ranger led hikes, programs for the families and kids which also form part of a Junior Ranger Badge. I was happy that my elder daughter along with her elder cousin successfully completed Junior Ranger Badge for Yosemite. It's a very promotional program to create an awareness, sense of responsibility and sow the seeds of future preservation amongst the youth.  

The park also provides free eco friendly shuttle bus service across Yosemite Valley. Shuttle map is available at the below link:

http://npmaps.com/wp-content/uploads/yosemite-valley-shuttle-bus-map.pdf

The green route which operates within Valley is a year round route whereas the brown and orange operate only during summer. Different attractions are covered by different routes. Below is the information regarding various vista / lookout points as well as major attractions of Yosemite: 

El Capitan

El Capitan – This is a 3000 ft largest granite structure in the world. One of the steepest and vertical  climb in Yosemite. Challenge for the mountain climbers

Half Dome 

Epic Half Dome - Half dome is an iconic structure of Yosemite. One requires permit to hike here when the cables are up. Permits are generally available in March based on lottery with a very limited number. 

Cathedral Rocks, A fantasy family of 3 brothers are other few points to name. Yosemite is not only about the granite structure but also the natural beauty. The scenic icons are: 

Yosemite falls the highest falls in North America. 

Yosemite Falls

Vernal falls and Nevada falls 

Nevada Falls and Vernal falls below from Glacier Point

Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls is a Strenuous hike to sight those roaring cascades closely. 

Ahona in tribal language – Puffing wind cascade which is a Bridal Veil fall today, the very first fall sighted from Tunnel view. 

The list of lookout points and diversity of nature's creation goes on and on and not only limited to Mirror lake, Tenaya Lake, Cathedral Lake, Tuolumne meadows. Those points form part of east entrance of Yosemite near Tioga Pass. Once can experience Yosemite wilderness at Maripossa Grove where thousand years old more than 300 ft high Sequoias are still in existence and growing. 

Just to brief about origin or Yosemite and history: 

The valley was predominantly populated by Miwok Tribe. For them the valley was Ahwanee – the great keeping mountain, Sacred mountain. They started calling themselves as "Ahwahneechee". Followed by the gold rush at the foothills of Sierra Nevada, thousands rushed and intruded the valley with the picks and pans in search of Gold.  Ahwahneechee had to fight back for their survival. 

In search of Gold, soldiers battalion from Mariposa entered Yosemite. They were stunned by scenic wonder of nature and splendid view of Sacred valley of Ahwahnechee and the name "Yosemite" took a birth.  

1864 Abraham Lincoln passed a resolution for Yosemite scenic reserve and preservation. But it was not a National Park till 1890. Untill then it was held as a preserved area of public trust by the state of  CA. John Muir who explored Yosemite on foot and fell in love with it. He made Yosemite as his home for the rest of his life. He raised a voice to protect this precious creation and in 1890 Yosemite became America’s 3^rd National Park. Mariposa groove became part of National Park later under the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt and consistent efforts from John Muir to protect the thousand year old trees from the loggers lobby! Unfortunately wild fires in 2018 hit Mariposa Grove badly and there was a major loss to Yosemite age old Sequoias. It burnt 1000s of acres. But still the park rangers strived their best to save the area and control the wildfires which was a selfless, remarkable effort.....

And today inspired by Yosemite, the bay area bluechip Apple Inc pays a tribute by naming their leading OSs (Operating Systems) as "Mac Sierra", "Mac Hi Sierra" and El Capitan, Half Dome as their official inbuilt screensavers in Mac book Pro reaching out across globe! 

"In God's Wilderness lies the hope of the world, the great, fresh, unblighted, unredeemed wilderness!!!" - Quote by John Muir 

That's Yosemite, the beating heart of California!!!!

National Parks Passport - Part 2 : Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)

The famous Quote “The Grand Canyon is carven deep by the master hand; it is the gulf of silence, widened in the desert; it is all time inscribing the naked rock; it is the book of earth.” – By Donald C. Peattie. And the journey began right time in fall 2017 on the eve of Labor Day Weekend!! Our first ever National Park journey with family all the way to Grand Canyon, Arizona. 

https://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm 

It was rather not scheduled but fitted and worked out as an unforgettable voyage and deep dive into the canyons!! The canyons that were carved by Colorado with billion years of efforts! The power of water over the period of time one can just dream off!!

As a kid I used to always wonder what’s so special about Grand Canyon?? Why folks visit and what’s there to see – just some rocks, some carved mountains and people would take few clicks and send it across! Given the option I would be least interested in visiting. But this very morale cluttered into pieces like when a vase falls down from a table!! I was ashamed that how incorrect I was and to reveal the reason behind that unknown “Why” when I visited this nature’s bounty and a real geographical wonder. I was blessed because this unplanned venture turned out to be a perfect hit in the bull’s eye at a very first attempt!! What a coincidence!! We visited South rim which was a perfect location to understand the billion years of history and the real canyon formation lookout point where we could site the mighty Colorado still making her own way through the carved mountains!!! Wow what an amazing journey!!

We started our way from Flagstaff – the Tahoe of Arizona.  1 ½ hrs drive to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park via I-40 W and AZ-64 N. It was early fall and the sun was still shining at 90s!! The roads are barren for miles together, sometimes surrounded by the unique desert formations, not always consistent though. When we passed Sedona region the honeymooners place I felt for a while I went back to the Mackena’s Gold Era in 60s’. Well Monument Valley is the real place – on the border of Utah and Arizona where this movie was shot. The good, The Bad and The Ugly or For Few Dollars More music background would have been a perfect blend while driving - I must say. 

With bit of a sweat and anxiousness to visit Grand Canyon we reached the National Park Visitor's Center at South Rim. First thing is to get the map of National Park - study about the directions, various entrances and on the top of it Park Rangers are there to help you. We had many options to choose different routes but the best one and scenic, suggested by the Park Ranger was Hermitz Rest Route with Red Line. Route that covers the most geographical formations with the canyon view and that too during the available time slot!! Another 100% assured dart hit!!

The route is covered by the free ecofriendly shuttle service provided by the Grand Canyon National Park. The route begins from Bright Angel Point and goes till the end to Hermitz Rest. At the very starting point - Bright Angel we witnessed the magnificence of Grand Canyon and I got my answer of "The Why" and I smiled at myself!!

There are moderate to strenuous hikes starting from Bright Angel Point. One of them could be sighted here in the above click. I really admired inspired folks who were taking the 5 miles trail in such a hot shot weather. Be mindful of water as there are no water stops here on the trail and at the very entrance the board speaks a loud about this notice!!! Another interesting catch was each milestone at south rim stamps the historical age as if there’s a hidden time capsule beneath.

To name couple of lookout points on Hermitz Rest route and must watch are "Pima Point", "Mohave Point" and "The Abyss". The real grandness of Grand Canyon can be seen from Mohave Point  which has a fine view of the near vertical, 3,000 foot high cliffs that encircle The Abyss and continue towards Pima Point, two miles west. Then we caught the breath taking view of mighty Colorado making her way through the canyons for years together from Pima Point. 

Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it - how truely said by Theodore Roosevelt!! One gets stunned to see nature's granduer and the splendid creation. The carving of Canyon is still going on and one can see the magnificent outcome. Just feel like storing everything in your eyesight forever.... and with that we came at the extreme end of the national park "Hermitz Rest". At the very end point of the rim there is a small shop situated on the cliff where once can sit back, enjoy the view of grand valley and also shop for souvenirs. 

Here are some facts about Grand Canyon (Source National park booklet and Wickipedia)

The Grand Canyon is a mile-deep gorge in northern Arizona. Scientists estimate the canyon may have formed 5 to 6 million years ago when the Colorado River began to cut a channel through layers of rock. ... The first Europeans to reach the Grand Canyon were Spanish explorers in the 1540s.

The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of preservation of the Grand Canyon area, and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery. For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site, and made pilgrimages to it. 

Still today Novajo Tribals ideally rule part of Grand Canyon which is not under National Park. The west rim with Glass Sky walk falls under this Novajo region. Much accessible and close from Las Vegas. 

The park has east, south, west and north entrances. Each entrance has it's own beauty just like the park has different beauty in each season!!

For kiddos to make this journey more interesting there are junior ranger badges. One can obtain those right at the beginning of park journey at Visitors center from Park Ranger. To know your park closely, study it and get your badge from the visitor's center once you submit the required covered paper based checkpoints/booklet based tasks. There are Park ranger led programs, tours and trails. If you want to really enjoy the park stay you can book your accommodation right in advance within the park itself. 

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/lodging.htm

Or there are other private options like AirBnB or motels and hotels nearby. The convenient shopping is also available within the park area. The ecofriendly free shuttle service on various routes make life much easier for those who want to sit back and relax and enjoy the natures bounty. 

With heart filled wish to return at another entrance one day we returned to Flagstaff.