Tim Hughes wrote:
>............ it is one huge parking lot. If you do foolishly go then, go in
>very early and just park your car and walk.
>
Absolute best motorized way to see the valley is a convertible, a
completely different experience than in a closed car. True also of the
Avenue of the Giants up on the No. coast. Actually true of most scenic
places, but especially so for those two places where so much of what one
wants to see is up, way up.
Absolute best non-motorized way to see the valley is by bicycle.
Distances are long enough that walking, even if it doesn't tire one out
too soon, simply takes a long time. Last time I had a companion who
bicycled, I stayed down at the South end of the park, drove up to the
valley through the gorgeous alpine scenery with the top down, found a
parking place, took the bikes off the rack, and had a terrific day
tootling around the valley. You can go pretty much anywhere, including
some routes closed to cars. About the only place where you have to leave
the bikes is to go in to visit Mirror Swamp.
As you said about JT, spring is a terrific time to see Yosemite. Fall is
also wonderful if you can go more than very occasionally. Everything is
pretty and the crowds are thinned out, but the falls are low, sometimes
only a trickle. Staying there one year after a loop trip in the high
country, we drove out just as the first snow started falling.
My last trip was at the end of April, and we got it all. Fabulous falls,
including many small, unnamed falls and seeps that disappear quickly, a
day of looow overcast, and a little rain, that did wonderful things to
the light, a dusting of snow, and beautiful blue skies with fluffy
clouds. We were down at the Sequoia grove a day or two before the tram
started for the season. Got a little exercise, which doesn't hurt, and
the place was almost deserted. We wandered around the grove up top
without seeing anyone for maybe half an hour.
Carol Anne wants to go again this year. Guess I need to start looking
for reservations. By the way, it's not all that widely known, but there
is a development of private home/cabins near the So. gate, many of which
are available for rental much of the time. I've stayed there and enjoyed
it too. Much nicer accommodations, at least where I stayed, than
Yosemite Lodge, and much cheaper than the Ahwanee. A longish drive to
the valley from there, though.
Moose
==============================================
List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
==============================================
|