I was in Fresno last week, and found that I had an opportunity to zoom up to the friendly neighborhood National Park - Yosemite - and make a quick acquaintance. I was there a total of 16 hours. I figure, better to have a whirlwind visit than no visit at all!
Fresno is in the San Joaquin Valley, essentially the irrigated desert of Central California between the coastal range to the west and the Sierra Nevada to the east. Driving out of Fresno, I slowly lost the 100 degree temperatures as I climbed into the mountains. The last few miles to the park entrance became amazingly twisty, with substantial banks in each curve. What a perfect place to drive a convertible!
My first surprise was that it was another 45 minute's drive from the South Entrance to Yosemite Valley, along more twisty roads. I 
eventually counted over 200 curves in the road between the South Entrance and the tunnel to the valley. Immediately after you exit the tunnel, the valley is laid out before you and it's stunning. I had time to do a little quick research before I came, so I was forewarned of the traffic and the Tunnel V
iew viewpoint and parking lot. Crowded! And the light wasn't very good, so I snapped a couple quick photos and moved on. The clock was running before sunset and I had a new camera to break in.
I was spending the night at Curry Camp, a fun, various-degrees-of-camping community at the far east end of the valley. I'd managed to snag a last minute cancellation for a heated cabin, which were very basic - two beds, a small dresser, heavy plywood walls, no toilet or sink - but the top of the pile for Curry.
But the view was million dollar. This was the view outside my front 
door. The reverse direction was equally stunning, as Curry Camp backs up to a sheer wall up to Glacier Point, one of the highest points along the valley.
I dropped my stuff and hustled over to the visitor's center, feeling desperately short for time. By then it was almost 6:30, sunset would start to get interesting in an hour. and I still had no idea where the best vantage point was. I walked right by the famous Ansel Adams Gallery, as much as I wanted to spend an hour there. Finally, I got an excellent tip from the Visitor Center's ranger, well worth the minutes spent: Sentinel Dome.
Sentinel Dome is a formation on the south rim of 
Yosemite Valley, three quarters of the way to Glacier point. It's a short hike off a small parking lot, but at a little over 8000' elevation, the last climb up to the dome gives you a workout.
Well, the view up there is spectacular. 360' of the Valley, Half Dome, Vernal Falls, and the Sierra all the way to Nevada. As icing on the cake, this is also where the fallen remains of the Jeffrey Pine made famous by the Ansel Adams photograph. Estimated to be over 400 years old, it died in the drought of 76-77, even though rangers and hikers carried buckets of water up to it. I took a bunch of sunset photos, though 
the conditions were pretty hazy, including some photos of a couple with their new baby. I'm still trying to figure out how to stitch together panorama shots with Photoshop Elements 6 - most frustrating! It was easy with Elements 2...isn't it supposed to get easier, not harder??
It was a long, twisty drive back in the dark to Curry, and I was on a mission: I hadn't had dinner yet and it was 9:30. I managed to scream up to the Curry pizza shop literally 5 minutes before they closed at 10, and finally ate half a medium pizza at 10:30 after a very full afternoon and evening. I haven't been so hungry for a very long while!
Walking back to the cabin from the car, it felt like a grown-up version of Boy Scout camp - very dark, lots of people walking around with flashlights or sitting in the dark, well-used camp building and grounds.
Next morning I was up and out at 5:45 AM to go wildlife (read: bears) 
photo hunting*. I got some decent photos of Bridalveil? falls, and walking back from the falls encountered a couple of juvenile bears playing around, foraging, and trying to dig through the garbage cans. By 8:30 I was out of there and headed back for my 12:30 flight out of Fresno!
I'm posting photos shortly to http://picasaweb.google.com/sean.deuby/ADayInYosemite. Once I can figure out how to make those damn panoramas...
- Sean
*The Norwegians have a great saying. In a land where the summer nights are very long - but the winter nights are longer - they take full advantage of the summer and say, "You can sleep in the winter!".
PS - Since beginning this I've heard about the wildfire west of Yosemite that's wreaking havoc for the homeowners in the area and possibly threatening the park. Here's hoping that damage is kept to a minimum. If you've never been to California in the summer, it's really quite surprising how dry much of the state is. When driving east to the park through all the bone-dry grassy landscape, I couldn't help but think it was like a tinderbox. The fire was started by the sparks from a fired weapon. Geez, it's a miracle they don't have more wildfires more often than they do.
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