The only entrance we used was the south entrance where there are two different signs announcing the arrival into Yosemite National Park. Unfortunately neither of these signs are indicative of the park you are about to see. This is one of the most visited parks in the United States and I expected the entrance to reflect that. As we passed through the entrance for the first time I thought that these couldn’t possibly the official signs. Every other park we have visited so far had a unique but uniform look fitting of a national park and those parks accommodate fewer visitors each  year.

Yosemite is such a large and incredible park, shouldn’t the entrance reflect that? I’m not expecting anything exceptionally extravagant but something that announces your arrival into such a magnificent park like the above photo shows for the Grand Canyon. There is not even a National Park Service logo on the first entrance sign to Yosemite above. The second sign does include this logo although it is quiet small. In the defense of Yosemite personnel, while looking through photos of other national parks I discovered similar disappointments with the entrance sign. The photo below is of the first entrance sign we encountered at Grand Canyon National Park. Even this one is more significant than either of the signs to Yosemite.

While exploring the visitor center in Yosemite Village we inquired about the entrance signs and were told at least one of the other entrances had a better sign. Unfortunately time constraints and the distance we would have to drive to get pictures of this sign prevented us from seeing it. Experiencing more of the natural features in Yosemite was a higher priority than taking a picture by a better sign. We were also told that there are plans to improve the South Entrance Sign in the future. To see what the other entrance signs looked liked I searched and found this photo below courtesy of ezeiza on flickr. A much nicer sign but still not as significant as might be expected at a park like Yosemite

I’ve often heard about the sequoias of California (also known as the redwoods). Stories of trees so large that tunnels were made through them large enough for cars to fit. An occasional picture added to the stories showing these magnificent trees and their grand scale. When first starting to plan for a trip to Yosemite National Park I didn’t realize that there were a smattering of these redwoods in the park. Most of these are in Mariposa Grove. Knowing that Sequoia National Park is close by my expectations were that in order to see the redwoods you would have to go here.

Entering from the south into Yosemite late in the day on Father’s Day, Mariposa Grove was the closest sight to this entrance so it was decided to explore this area with the daylight we had left. Entering the parking area the sequoias are immediately visible and very impressive. I don’t know if a photo can capture the grandeur of these trees with much accuracy which is why seeing these for yourself is the only way to experience these massive redwoods. Looking around the parking lot quickly invites you to take a short hike to see more of these trees with the gem being the California Tunnel Tree less than a mile away.

After only a few minutes on the trail you come across one of the sequoias that has fallen and gives you an idea of just how large the base of the trees can be. Another observation at this point was how wide this dirt trail was and the amount of dust that had settled on nearby plants indicating just how many people have been using the trail in recent days. Continuing on this trail, another fallen sequoia laying across the trail adds the your education by explaining how many rings a trees has indicating it’s age. Also, this tree has been cut allowing passage between portions of the trunk.

This brought about the question of how do they cut through these trees? The trunk is 10 –12 feet in diameter. I have never seen a saw that was this large. I can only imagine that a trunk has to be cut with several passes of a larger chainsaw as I do with a tree that may only be 18 – 20 inches in diameter. It was at this point we learned many of the larger redwoods were 1,800 – 2,000 years old. Imagine, a tree that has lived this long and all of the different conditions it has survived to get to this point. Fires, ice and snow, rocks shifting (earthquakes), heat, cold.  These trees could tell us more about climate change if they could speak.

Moving further up the trail there were more giant sequoias to capture your attention and just about the time you start asking “where is the tunnel tree? We’ve been on this trail for awhile now.” it appears through the forest. Now in sight the pace hurries a little to see this tree close up as you forget that you’re even walking out of amazement at seeing a tree so large a tunnel could be created out of it and it still lives. Getting closer to this tree of course you have to have your picture taken standing inside a living tree but in order to believe it is actually real you almost have to touch the tree. The bark is very spongy almost begging to be touched over and over again. You can see were the tree is trying to heal the enormous wound by all the bark that has started to grow on the inside of the tunnel in an attempt to cover exposed wood.

Satisfied that the hike was worth every step to see such magnificent trees it was time to return to the vehicles as dictated by the waning daylight. A hike at this time of day can be more peaceful as many of the other explorers had already returned to their vehicles and left for the day leaving the quietness of the forest for those still meandering the trails. It is this peacefulness that I desire allowing the natural surrounding to be seen and heard as you return to where you began. We returned to the vehicles as the sun was setting allowing us to find a spot on the road to stop and witness the last rays of the day. A day filled with memories as we began this Father’s Day in the hustle of Los Angeles eating a great breakfast and ended the day in the peace and quiet of Yosemite as the forest transitioned into night.

I sent out a tweet while in Yosemite as follows: “Just got the #yosemite national park location signed on the monopoly board by Dave Crockett.” There have been some inquiries about it so I though I would explain it in further detail.

After exploring Yosemite for a couple of days it was time to fulfill the ritual of getting our Monopoly National Parks edition board signed by a park ranger. It was off to the nearest visitor center which happened to be the Wawona Information Station in search of a ranger. After hurrying to get there before they closed we found out they had closed an hour earlier so we were out of luck because the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center would be closed before we got there as well.

The day before we were in Yosemite Valley at the visitor center learning about Yosemite and taking in a ranger program for our junior rangers. We could have had the board signed then but time was once again running short as we had dinner reservations at the Ahwahnee restaurant to get to so it was tabled until the next day. Unfortunately our adventure in Mariposa Grove took longer than expected eliminating our opportunity to make it back to the valley.

We were leaving the next day with a long drive to L.A. to catch our flight home so there really was no time to go back into the park meaning we needed to get the board signed before leaving on this night. What were the options? There are park rangers roaming the park the big question was where and how to find them? One of the park rangers from the valley the day before had mentioned we could have a ranger and the entrance sign. Recalling this we decided this was the best option.

Arriving at the entrance we stopped and waited for cars to go through before approaching one of the booths housing two rangers. I asked if one of them would sign it. They both looked at each other and finally one of them said “me?” I responded “if you’re willing!” and gave him the pen. While he was signing I noticed is badge which said Dave Crockett. Upon returning to the vehicle and explaining that we just had Davy Crockett sign our board they laughed and thought it was a great ending to the trip in Yosemite.

For those that would like a little further explanation here you go. First off, Davy Crockett was considered the “King of the Wild Frontier” so an avid outdoorsman and adventurer very similar to how many of the park rangers are viewed. Secondly, we had opportunities to have the board signed by other rangers but those opportunities fell through almost as if it was fate that Dave Crockett was meant to sign the board. We found it a little ironic!