Yosemite Wildlife Weekend

Well, another weekend away! Obviously, nothing exciting happened during the week. Saturday morning we had a quick breakfast, finished packing our bags and went down to Irving Street to catch an N-Judah into town - Van Ness station at Market Street. After extracting some cash from an ATM at the Bank of America, we walked down to the Hertz depot on 10th St. We left in a Nissan Versa, a small hatchback. I had spent some time on Friday using Google Earth to map our routes out and back, so Sue followed those directions as we drove East over the Oakland Bay Bridge into the unknown - well, not really, as we had done this trip in 1985 and 1991.

The path was fairly easy to follow, and after about 2 hours we were at Oakdale, where we stopped at the Bliss Cafe for lunch ( http://www.cafebliss-oakdale.com/ ). The sandwiches took a while to make, but we relished the rest from driving. The coffee (double-shots) was the best we've had out of 9th Ave. We then headed off into the foothills and mountains, taking a bit of a shortcut up the Old Priest Grade. This was very steep, and cut probably 2 miles off the normal route 120. Eventually we reached the entrance to the National Park, where we paid $20 for the weekend access. There was still a long way to go, with a reduced speed to protect the wildlife.

The scenery to this point was not as good as it might have been as there had been a big wildfire during the summer which destroyed over 1,500 acres. From one vantage point we had a clear view down to some historic huts in a meadow, as well as across to the renowned "Half Dome" above Yosemite valley.

Before looking for our lodgings we called in at the Valley Store to buy some bottled water. We then thought we could walk to the lodgings, so headed out the back door and down a path. Despite all of the people around we were surprised to be only a few metres from some deer - a doe and 2 fawns - which were grazing on the small amount of grass in that area. They did not seem to be surprised or scared by us. We seemed to be the only people actually stopping to photograph them, so it was probably not a rare occurrence.

We eventually hopped back in the car to drive to the Lodge. I thought I had booked us into the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, but it turned out (embarassingly) that we were to be in Curry Village. This area is predominantly a campers' hangout, with tented cabins, and some solid cabins. Fortunately we were in one of the latter, in a block of about 10. This was a short walk along an unlit bitumen path to the guest lounge cabin, where wireless internet was available. This was a further short walk across to the large dining area and bar, where pizzas and beers could be bought and enjoyed on the deck or inside. Inside was where breakfast was to be had. Even from here some good views were available:

We went for a drive around the place, and called in at the Ahwahnee Hotel. We asked if there was a bed available for Sunday night, which there was, so we were able to cancel our second night at Curry for a night at the Ahwahnee - you'll understand why when you see the photos. Whilst there, in the bar area, we had a share-plate of fish along with a glass of wine, followed by a piece each of Boysenberry pie. We were entertained by a pianist, so we tried to recognise the tunes for our amusement! We drove back to our cabin and, before leaving the car in the car-park, ensured that we had not left any food or smelly items in it. This was a requirement, as the local black bears are attracted to smells, even though they do not actually attack humans directly.

On Sunday morning, after breakfast in the Curry dining room, we checked out and drove along looking for photo opportunities. One of these was at a meadow which had a boardwalk across it. There was evidence of animals having rested near there overnight, but other than a scat from something no animals were present. However the scenery was awesome - it is difficult to describe being in a small valley surrounded by almost mile-high vertical rock walls, created thousands of years ago by a glacier. Maybe a picture can replace a thousand words:

After driving a bit further and taking a few more photos, we headed to the General Store and the group of buildings which included the Ansel Adams Gallery. Ansel was a renowned photographer who helped put Yosemite and the Sierra Mountain Range on the national map. We bought some gift items and cards, then went to buy some sandwiches at Degnans Deli. We started to eat them at the tables there, but the place was busy so we decided to head up the valley to a picnic area near El Capitan, one of the major rock formations in the valley. We finished our lunch and decided to walk towards the Cathedral Spires Vista, through the woods, although only 10 to 20 metres from the road. This was a comfortable walk, and soon we were at a major bend in the Merced River - Devil's Elbow.

From there we could see both El Capitan which towered above us and Cathedral Spires on the south side of the river. We were surprised to see some climbers on El Capitan, mere specs on the mountain face.

We then walked back along the road to the car, then went to the Ahwahnee Hotel to check in ( http://www.yosemitepark.com/the-ahwahnee.aspx ). After a hot shower we dressed for dinner, and headed down to the bar for a pre-dinner drink which we had outside as the evening was quite mild - compared with the first night there.

After drinks we still had some time before our 7:45 dinner, so we sat in the lounge area and reviewed my photos so far which I had uploaded to the tablet computer.

At 7:45 we were ushered into the dining room for dinner. There was a good selection of both red and white wines by the glass. Sue ordered a white whilst I ordered a red. For dinner Sue ordered a Steelhead Trout fillet - a Steelhead being a fish from the eastern Pacific Ocean (for those that leave their fresh-water birth habitat). After a starter of Dungeness Crab cake I had a main of Duck breast. Both meals were delicious and too much to allow for dessert :(

The Ahwahnee dining room

On Monday morning we had a leisurely breakfast in the dining room, with a good view:

We then did some shopping in the small shop before checking out. As it was quite late I was concerned for us to be able to return the car in time, so we headed off. As we were heading down Northside Drive, only a short way from the Yosemite Lodge complex, I spotted a black bear (with brown fur) loping in the woods. I pulled over to take some photos, and we ended up following it for some distance. I was out of the car taking photos, but was not concerned for my safety as the bear was intent on following a scent (not mine!).

Eventually the bear went into the forest, so we continued our drive out. Not much further along we spotted some deer resting in the shade. There were about 4 of them, one grazing quietly while the others were lying down either alert or asleep. We stopped to take some close shots of them - they were almost oblivious to our presence, especially mine as I crossed the road and approached them.

After one last look at the valley

we finally headed down the road. We stopped for lunch and gas (petrol) at Oakdale, then headed to San Francisco via the San Mateo Bridge and Highway 101. We were nearly in a crash on the bridge as we were overtaken by a pickup carrying some loose light bags, 3 of which blew off. 

View from San Mateo Bridge to San Francisco.

As we approached South San Francisco we passed the home ground of the San Francisco 49ers gridiron team, known as Candlestick Park. Sue had followed my printed directions from Google Maps really well, and as I had also done a synthesised drive along the last part we were soon dropping off the car at Hertz. We caught a taxi back to the Studio, driving past the Panhandle Park ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panhandle_(San_Francisco) ). 

Unless something dramatic happens over the next few days, I'll report from the next stop: Loma Linda University ( http://www.llu.edu/ ), east of Los Angeles. Cheers, Phil.