Yosemite on Fire!!
In 2014, I had the thrilling opportunity to drive through the northwestern United States, a tale shared in pictures and words on my old : //singin1.wordpress.com/category/goin-west-2014/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Singin' One on the Road blog. Though time was running short at that point in my trip, I made it my business to stop at the Yosemite National Park.
: //singin1.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Yosemite2014.jpg" alt="" width="1160" height="412" />
I took the bus tour of the park, which was not terribly crowded because it was early June and the public schools were still in session, and drove RB up to Glacier Point. Although I had only spent a few hours there, the park became my favorite of all those I've visited over the years.So, it was distressing to hear that : //www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-tr-yosemite-fires-closures-20170831-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the park is on fire. The Park Service has updated information on its site, and regional newspapers are reporting it along with other California summer blazes.
The site below is also posting news and images from the fire:
https: //snowbrains.com/yosemite-national-park-ca-fire-highway-41-glacier-point-rd-closed/
(View this : //singin1.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Yosemite-Fire-2017-Snow-Reports.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">.pdf file if the link doesn't work)Reports suggest the fires were not the results of arson, and I'm glad to know that no human got the idea to destroy such a beautiful site. However, a fire in a major national park would normally have made national news, but these are not normal times. The arrival and damaging impact of Hurricane Harvey to Houston, Texas, and surrounding areas--as well as the misadventures of the current president of the United States--have driven stories like this off the front pages of newspapers outside the park's region. I only learned about the fire because I happened to read a story in the New York Times online version about the darker history of Yosemite.
Most of the park is open, but visitors are advised to limit their outdoor activities even in those open areas because of the smoky air conditions. Since this is the Labor Day weekend, I'm sure there are a lot of people who either decided not to visit Yosemite or who have found their plans significantly affected. My prayers for the safety of those fighting the fires, and my hopes that all will be well again soon.
Afterthoughts about Goin’ West 2014
This is the map of my 16-day, Goin’ West 2014 trip: This surpassed my previously longest car trip from Grinnell to Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, by a whole 17 miles!! I stuck pretty closely to my original route, with some new additions–especially Little Bighorn National Park and North Cascades National Highway–and only two major deletions. After the magnificence of Yellowstone, I didn’t feel the need to deviate 250 miles from my westward trip to see Glacier National Park in Montana, although I’d heard many wonderful things about it. I also didn’t cross into Canada to visit Vancouver. The trip included visits to seven national parks: Little Bighorn (Montana), Yellowstone (Wyoming), North Cascade, Olympic, and Mount Rainier (Washington State), Redwood, and Yosemite (California). The parks were fantastic and more than worth the cost of the annual season pass. My favorites were Redwood and Yosemite, but none disappointed. There were other parks…
Day 14: Yosemite Sa… Randye
While my vacation time was fast drawing to an end, I still made time to visit Yosemite National Park. I chose a route that took us through Modesto and the Napa Valley area. The prominence of vineyards I passed in this famous wine region weren’t surprising to me, but the significant presence of almond tree groves was. There was a museum in Modesto I’d hoped to visit, but just as the unplanned nature of my journey sometimes meant I arrived at a site too late to be able to do more than capture a few shots, it also occasionally caused me to arrive too early. In this case, I felt it was necessary to be at Yosemite by the museum’s scheduled noon opening time. The drive into the Sierra Nevada Mountains had both eye-catching scenery plus attention-demanding twists and turns in the road. Upon reaching Yosemite, I followed my established pattern of…