a couple of nights was a good thing
to do, we got to wash clothes and
save by cooking our own meals.
Overlooking the town square from
our balcony proved to be very interesting at night!
Early the next morning, we
headed north on 101. We stopped at
the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center,
just before the little town of Orick.
There you can get up-to-the-minute
conditions and advice on good trails
to walk. I suggest going to the Lady
Bird Johnson Grove before taking
other hikes. Turn right on Bald Hill
Road, about one mile north of Orick
on Hwy 101, drive about two miles to
the trailhead parking lot (with restrooms), and cross over the footbridge to the grove. The one mile
circular trail has 13 stations. By reading the furnished walking guide, you
will have invaluable information that
will help you understand the history
behind the Redwoods for your other
walks. Be sure to find the Corkscrew
Tree - it is not behind the sign on the
road, but just a couple of minutes
from that sign on the trail, and the
best view is from behind the trees.
With so many trails available, you can
spend as much time as you wish, and
they are all pretty easy. We spent two
nights in Arcata.
Heading back south, we stopped in
Santa Rosa and visited the Charles
Schultz museum. Anyone who has
ever read a Peanuts cartoon will
enjoy this museum where you can
learn about the life of Schultz, and
how the cartoon series came about
and evolved into what is arguably the
best cartoon series ever.
https://schultzmuseum.org/
Then we took a few “off the
road” highways to see Wine Country.
Early June is late spring, I suppose, in
this part of California and everything
was green and colorful. Even the medians along the highway had beautiful flowering shrubs. We were on our
way to spend the night in Vallejo. No
special reason for that town, but it
turned out to be a nice way to spend
the evening on the east side of the
Bay, having a drink while the sun set!
Early the next morning, we headed
to Yosemite Park, actually to the little
town of El Portal. Staying at Cedar
Lodge, we were only about 12 miles
from one of the entrances to the
park. Yosemite is home to countless
waterfalls, but you have to time your
Lembert Dome. Our trip was coming to a close. Having seen enough waterfalls, we were in search of something else. We asked a Ranger what we could
hike out of the Valley. She told us to make the rather long drive to Tuolume
Meadows and take the hike to Lembert Dome. The trail had just reopened
for the season. It was an uphill battle but we made it. It was our last real hike,
and atop the Dome, we could look out at snow capped mountains surrounding us. It was a beautiful moment with Robin, just sitting there looking at His
creation.
The Corkscrew Tree awaits just a couple of
minutes from the sign on the Newton Drury Scenic
Parkway. It is actually four trees that are intertwined together, reaching for the sky. It is just north of Big Tree. How can you
resist taking a photo of your granddaughter inside of them?
visit so there is water to fall! The
best time to see waterfalls is during
spring, when most of the snow melt
occurs. Peak runoff typically occurs in
May or June, with some waterfalls (including Yosemite Falls) having only a
trickle or being completely dry by
August. Storms in late fall rejuvenate
some of the waterfalls. Many of the
roads in the park are closed until
May.
Our first stop after entering the
park on Highway 140 was to see El
Capitan. Shortly after that, we
learned the way to get around the
park was by using the shuttle buses.
Traffic and finding a place to park can
be a nightmare, and according to the
Rangers, "It only gets worse (after
mid-June)." The many waterfall hikes
are the thing to do in the south part
of the Park. After a day and a half of
that, we headed to the more
northerly area. Taking Highway 120, it
was an hour and a half drive to the
Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center.
The camping there had not even
opened yet, and some of the higher
elevation trails were still closed. The
trail to Lembert Dome had opened
only six days before, and we were determined to tackle it. The first three
quarters of a mile is an uphill struggle
that climbs 900-feet from the base elevation of about 8500 feet. I took
many “photo breaks.” At the top
was the most beautiful scene that I
have ever witnessed. Being early
June, the highest elevation of the
surrounding mountains still had
snow! It wasn’t John Denver’s “Rocky
Mountain High”, but it might be
even more beautiful.
After three days of hiking the
Yosemite, we regretfully had to return
to the San Franciso airport for our
long journey home.
However you do it, just do it! If
you don’t want to spend expensive
time in San Francisco, just head to
the Redwood forest above Arcata
and then to Yosemite! You won’t regret it!
July 2016 www.marshandbayou.com
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