POLAR OPPOSITES

Sacramento, CA - October 16
THE TWILIGHT ZONE
Jim had a telephone conference call/meeting scheduled for Thursday morning, so a week earlier we decided to be in Sacramento on the Wednesday before so there would be a mailing address for the meeting materials to be sent, as well as good cell phone service.  Jim made a reservation at an RV park he picked out of the Trailer Life Directory and let the manager know that a package would be arriving for him and to hold it until we got there.  "No problem", said the manager.

So, Wednesday, we reluctantly left the peaceful energy and exquisite beauty of Mount Shasta.  We arrived in California's capitol city with the noise and traffic congestion that goes with it, and found the RV park which turned out to be an old classic trashy trailer park with a closely packed menagerie of 40 year old mobile homes, permanent RV's, various vehicles, and colorful characters who live there.  It was like waking up and finding out I had just entered the Twilight Zone; Mount Shasta and our new address in Sacramento were polar opposites. When Jim asked about the Fed Ex package he was expecting, the manager said "Oh, that's you?  I didn't know who that package was for, so I sent it back".  Jim was pissed, and I tried to stay in my Mount Shasta Zen zone.

WELCOME TO YOSEMITE!  October 17 - 21

Thursday morning we heard the news; the government shut-down is over and all National Parks and Monuments will open immediately.  YIPPEE!  While Jim was finishing up his telephone meeting, I looked for a campsite in/by Yosemite.  We couldn't get out of Sacramento fast enough.

Our campground was located in a canyon near the small town of El Portal.  Friday morning we arrived at the Arch Rock entrance into Yosemite National Park and were greeted by a smiling park ranger; "Welcome to Yosemite!" she said.  It was obvious that the Park rangers and concessionaires were happy to be back to the jobs they love.

The landscape of Yosemite is dramatic and diverse.  Melting glaciers sculptured, smoothed and polished the huge granite mountains leaving massive rocks and huge boulders stranded on and around the cliffs and in the Merced River.  Stunning waterfalls, and forests of giant fir, cedar, black oak, and large leaf maple trees, and mountain meadows add to the spectacular panorama of the mountains and Yosemite Valley. 

"It is by far the grandest of all the special temples of nature I was ever permitted to enter" - John Muir

"Nature undergoes constant transformation, with rock falls, fires, and floods changing its appearance." 

Vernal Fall

El Capitan - the worlds largest granite monolith.  Can you see the "heart" of El Capitan in the center? 

Half Dome



Arch Rock, a natural tunnel.

Olmstead Point

The bears living in Yosemite are smarter than the average bear and will destroy your vehicle to get inside and steal your picnic basket.  While hiking the trails, all coolers, food, and beverages must be stored in these bear proof storage lockers located at the trailhead parking lots.  Leaving food inside vehicles overnight results in a $5,000 fine. 

View of Half Dome from Glacier Point

Driving through a golden corridor in Yosemite Valley. Fall colors were at their peak.

Not much water was crashing over Bridal Vail Falls during this dry season.  I would love to see it with the Spring run-off.
Yosemite Falls was completely dry this time of year and is referred to as "Yosemite Wall".