The hot tub and heated pool at the Best Western in Mariposa was a nice way to relax on a Thursday night. And I loved the vibe at The Grind coffee house in Oakhurst, CA.
We camped in the National Forest just outside of the South Entrance to Yosemite National Park on Friday night. Once again, the wood I gathered was positive soaked, and I spent my evening dousing the soggy wood with lighter fluid. Darn.
Note that Kim is standing next to a new tent. We had a tent pole break after our last night camping. Without many options, we bought a cheap $20 tent at Wal-Mart to use for the weekend. Cheap is the key word. It worked, but it was tiny :-)
Our campsite was nestled in a beautiful forest, within earshot of this little creek.
After breakfast and striking camp, we entered Yosemite through the South Gate.
And spent our morning among the Giant Sequoias! Look at size of these trees compared to the surrounding cars.
The Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias holds a special place in our heart. Kim and I spent part of our honey moon camping near Wawona, and enjoyed some lovely hikes through the grove a little over 4 years ago. We've been looking forward to returning ever since.
Here's Kim below the root structure of the Fallen Monarch. It can take thousands of years for a Giant Sequoia to decompose, due to the high tannin content of the wood.
We also passed through a recently burned section of forest. Surprisingly, Giant Sequoias thrive (and even require) forest fires to reproduce. Their cones only reduce their seeds under the heat of fire.
This is the largest and oldest tree in the park, the Grizzly Giant!
We spotted a couple of deer nibbling on some of the greenery in the forest.
And a few minutes later, a coyote was slinking his way through the trees!
How about this for the trunk of a tree!
Far, far from Scotland, we found a blooming thistle shrub. John Muir, the original pastor of the park, himself was from Scotland. I couldn't help but think of Mr. Muir, looking at these thistles.
We also spotted quite a few chicarees, also known as grey Douglas squirrels. They're quite cute, and quite brave!
We hiked about 5 miles total through the grove, up to the Museum, and then back to the car. This is the wooden roof of the cabin that serves as the grove museum.
We found a gorgeous butterfly on the front steps.
Check out these before and after pictures, to get a feel for the overwhelming size of these magnificent trees...
Wow. So that was our morning in Mariposa Grove. We spent the next few hours driving toward a much more crowded Yosemite Valley...
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