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"No temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite." These words, spoken by pioneer naturalist and conservationist, John Muir, capture the very essence of Yosemite National Park. It is, indeed, a magical place where one can feel the presence of God at every turn. Ranging from 2,000 feet above sea level to more than 13,000 feet, the park encompasses alpine wilderness, groves of giant sequoia trees, and Yosemite Valley. Often called "the incomparable valley," Yosemite Valley may be the world’s best known example of a glacier-carved canyon at one mile wide and seven miles long.

Yosemite is roughly the size of Rhode Island. Within the park, there are several major waterfalls. Among them, Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in North America but dries up in the autumn. Bridalveil Falls flows all year. Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls, along the Merced River, comprise what some call the "grand staircase".

Established in 1890, Yosemite National Park’s dramatic scale of waterfalls, rounded domes, massive monoliths, and towering cliffs has inspired painters, poets, photographers, and millions and millions of visitors. With its towering trees, flowering meadows, and massive granite formations, Yosemite is like no other place I have seen. In fact, the story is that when a visitor asked a Yosemite ranger what he would do if he had only a day to visit the park, the ranger answered, "I’d weep."

The first person to bring tourists to Yosemite Valley was James Mason Hutchings. After bringing that first group to the Valley in 1864, he built the Hutchings House at the foot of Yosemite Falls. We, as Americans, owe a great debt of thanks to John Muir for the role he played in preserving "wildness", helping to create Yosemite and four other national parks that we now enjoy. We can also thank other visionary leaders including the nation’s first superintendent of parks, Stephen Mather, for whom Arkansas’ Petit Jean Mountain Mather Lodge was named.

We arrived at our Indian Flat RV Park in El Portal, about 10 miles outside the park’s southwest boundary, around 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 15. We were really tired as we had run into a boondoggle on the way. Our intent had been to follow Highway 140 from Mariposa to El Portal because we didn’t want to have to drive all the way into the park and then out again to get to our campground. However, when we reached 140, we found that it had been closed because of a rockslide and vehicles over 27 feet were forbidden from traveling on the road. We were only 12 miles from our campground but we just couldn’t get there! Even though we thought we could probably make it, the threat of a $270 fine made us decide to backtrack and find an alternate route, adding another 100 miles to our day. We followed CA 49 to 120 then turned east for a 50-mile steep climb on a twisty-turny road with no guardrails! But it was a beautiful drive with lots of wildflowers in bloom and a glimpse at the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.

Monday, we entered the park at the Arch Rock entrance and drove to the valley floor. We stopped in at the Valley Visitor Center to pick up some literature and get our bearings. We were told that wifi access was available at Yosemite Lodge so we decided to check our emails. Unfortunately, after a couple of hours of trying to get online, we gave up and asked for our $6.00 access fee back.

After a drive to Inspiration Point to get a grand view of the valley, we decided to check out Highway 140 to see first-hand why it was closed and did, indeed, find a section of the road that was covered by a rockslide. We followed the detour across a one lane bridge then continued on to the town of Mariposa to get gas for $3.29, since it was $4.10 near our campground, and to find a wifi spot. We stopped in at the Happy Burger Diner where they had wifi and 10-ounce tumblers of wine for $2.99. What a deal! And the drive was beautiful with dogwoods in full bloom throughout the area.

Tuesday, April 17, we hiked to Bridalveil Falls, followed by lunch at the old Ahwanee Hotel. After lunch, we drove to the southern part of the park to visit the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias. This grove is not as pretty today as those in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, as Yosemite’s superintendent practices "prescribed burning", where the undergrowth is burned to "allow for a healthier forest". The result is scarred trees and charred earth. I am NOT a proponent of prescribed burns. However, this grove was once so impressive that, in 1864, President Lincoln took time out from the Civil War to sign a bill granting both the valley and this grove to the State of California. Never before had a nation set aside land as a wilderness preserve. Even though Yosemite became a national park in 1890, it was not until 1906 that California formally gave the original grants back to the federal government. It was here that we saw one of the oldest living sequoias, the 2,700 year old "Grizzly Giant". This tough old tree has been battered, burned and, generally, beat up throughout its life yet it still lives on. Old Grizzly is an excellent example of just how strong and tough the sequoia is. We also saw the California Tree, carved to allow horses and buggies to travel through it in 1895. This is not the drive-through tree that was famous for so many years and that is seen in many old photos of this area. That tree was called the Wawona Tunnel Tree and it actually toppled in the winter of 1968-69. There are over 200 sequoias in the Mariposa Grove.

Wednesday, we took a 3-mile hike to the top of Vernal Falls. The trail description noted that the hike was "strenuous" with a 1,000 foot gain. They were right about the strenuous part. There must have been over 1,000 steps to climb to reach the top. As we started our hike around 1:30, snow peppered down, adding to the ambience of this special place. And, this was a memorable day for another reason – four years ago on this very day, we took possession of both Bubba and Pearl. That makes April 18 a very special day in the Linebarger house (or motorhome, if you prefer). It was on that day that we really began this glorious journey. Today is yet another step along the way. Jerry noted that, for a couple of old, fat folks, today’s strenuous hike is probably a milestone. And, it did not go unnoticed that almost everyone else on the trail was young! By 6 p.m., we could brag that "we came, we saw, we conquered."

Yosemite was everything we remembered from our first trip here in the late 70’s – maybe even more. We are happy that we were able to plan this visit before the summer crowds. During June, July and August, there are as many as 14,000 visitors in Yosemite Valley on any given day. For that reason, visitors are encouraged to park their vehicles at the day-visitor parking area and ride the free shuttle to 21 stops throughout the Valley. Although there were still a couple of roads in the park that were closed because of snow, the park was uncrowded and wonderful. On our next visit, we have committed to stay at one of the campgrounds within the park, even though they do not have hookups. And we have agreed that the first or second week in May would be the perfect time to be here.

We left our campground around noon on Thursday and headed back down twisty, turny Highway 120 toward Manteca. We would spend the night at French Camp, CA then travel to Petaluma the next day where we would stay three nights at the North San Francisco/Petaluma KOA before boarding a series of planes to visit friends and family in New Orleans and Houston. Then, ultimately, we would spend a couple of weeks in our beloved Arkansas.

As we left this magnificent park, I was reminded of another of John Muir’s bits of wisdom: "Every one needs beauty, as well as bread – places to play in and pray in – where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul." Yosemite is all that and more.

Until next time, happy trails to you . . . til we meet again!