My wife Carolyn and I just spent 6 week in yosemite NP.  I was a volunteer in their safety office during that time and we were able to spend some wonderful days in the park.  We were there when it snowed, rained and sun with all the wild flowers.  I guess our most wonderful days were Sunday's at worship in the little chapel in the park.  It is the oldest building in the park going back to the 1870's.  On some Sundays, there may be only 15 or so in the worship service, but the last Sunday (the Sunday prior to Easter) we had almost 50.  There were people who worked in the park and visitors to the park.  I hope if you visit Yosemite and are there on a Sunday, go to church.  The chapel is open 24/7, so even if it is not a Sunday, stop in.  The Pastor and his wife are truly wonderful. 

Be sure and go to tunnel view.  From there you will be able to see the Park valley.  Yosemite is 95% wilderness and if you are in a car, you will only be able to see a small part of it.  Also visit the Wawona area on the south end of the park.  The old hotel there was built in the late 1800's and if I stayed in any hotel in the park, that is where I would stay.  Then there is  Hetch Herchy.  You have to go out of the park and re-enter through another "gate".  This reservoir supplies San Francisco with water and power.  Hetch Hetchy is named from the grass that use to grow there prior to the lake being formed.  I have been to almost Aational park in the western U.S. and Canada and Yosemite is truly a work of God's hand.  By the way:  Yosemite and Hetch Hetchy was formed by glaciers about 10,000 years ago.  Since there are no glaciers there now, guess there was either global warming or those silly native American were building too big of fires.  Where was Al Gore??  Go, you will love the park. 

Chester-

Where do I sign up for 6 weeks in Yosemite??  How about 12 weeks?  Sounds like you and your wife had a great experience.  Thank you very much for taking the time to post your article.  I hope you will post more since you seem to have seen many of the parks.  How many parks in the U.S. and how many elsewhere have you seen?   I am about to post on Yosemite 1975 when my wife and I were able to go to Yosemite more than once in a twelve month period .   Yosemite  was my number one national park for many years.  It has all of the famous names associated with the beginning of the national park system such as John Muir, Ansel Adams, etc.  I cannot fathom how one could cut down a 275' sequoia!  Times have changed.

Bill

Bill:

It was so good to read your reply and hear from you.  Sure wish we could be at the NHS reunion as I sure truly miss all our classmates.  I had volunteered for all then National Parks in the west, but Yosemite is the only one that ask me to come.  They paid for a wonderful 1 B.R. apartment, $10/day for my food and travel down.  There is a web sit and I think it's: www.volunteer.gov/gov were all the positions are listed.  If you have a R.V., they are looking for campground host all over the country, wilderness rangers, etc., etc.  Just about anything you want to do.  I know you have a wonderful career.  Like you, I can not understand how someone can cut down a true that old and large.  I just heard today that Glacer N.P. has lost 2 more glacers, but like I said in my piece, they have been going forf 10,000 years now.  Taker care of yourself and if you get out this way, please let us know.  Carolyn and I are going on a cruise in May to Alaska.  I've spent a lot of time there in the Coast Guard, but she hasn't.  Please stay in touch.  Again, it was so good to hear from you.

Chester

Chester-

It was good to hear from you too.

You may be interested to know that the ranger in Glacier in 2007 on the Grinnell Glacier guided tour said that Glacier NP had lost all of its glaciers 4 times (I think it was that, not 3 -my brain remembers 4 but lost or returned is not clear) which has been proved by geologists.  Maybe those Indians you mentioned were also burning big fires in Glacier 600,000 years ago and more.  Anyway, it is true that Glacier is losing its glaciers at a rapid pace.   All glaciers could be gone by 2030 (I think they revised that down).  It would be say the 5th time that it has happened.  Every other time they have come back - I trust it will happened again unless the Indians again built some really great fires.

I do not have an RV but maybe I need one!

Wish you could make the reunion.  I understand why you can't.  Be careful about this inviting stuff.  We haven't yet done the Crater Lake, Redwoods and Lassen Volcanic parks.  In June we are going for the Great Basin,  Bryce Canyon, Capital Reef,  Arches and Canyonlands (We have already done Zion which I recommend).

Bill

Bill:

Know you will enjoy the parks you plan to visit.  I have been all over the world, from the Arctic to Antarctica and I guess Crater Lake is the most beautiful place I have seen.  It's worth the trip.  Know you will enjoy it.  Besides:  Bill Holly has a travel trailer and just hook up to it and go.

Chester

Well, I'm busy typing up all these reunion questionaires in the format the printer needs but have to join in here since you two started dropping names.  :)  Hope others will tell us about the places they place high on their lists to see.

Polly and I bought a used travel trailer last May in Alamogordo, NM.  A preacher friend had found it for us and we bought it sight unseen.  He also gave us a canoe he could no longer use, it had been red, red in it's early life but had faded to a vivid pink.  If anyone saw a pink canoe strapped on top of a white Suburban pulling a 27' travel trailer last May/June east of the Mississippi all the way to UT, OR & WA, MT, WY, NE, etc., & back to LA then you saw us.  Polly loved it, never could forget where you had parked when you came out of the grocery store.  :)

We hit Crater Lake N.P. based on Chester's recommendation, it is beautiful.  The photo of us sitting on the rock wall is at Crater Lake.  We were not able to drive the east rim due to deep snow still blocking the road.  In just a few hours time we hit rain, snow, sleet, it's really tough coming round a curve and find a sleet covered road.  It will turn your stomach inside out.  We made it and found a camping spot right by a beautiful stream/river about 20 miles west of the south entrance.  We really enjoyed the trailer, you have your own bed, your own "facilities" and you meet some of the nicest people parked next to you and throughout the rv parking areas.  Just try visiting with the folks in the motel room nearby your room!  Visiting is one of the great things about rv'ing.

We hiked down into Bryce Canyon, that was the easy part, the hike back out, up, with rain threatening to catch us in the open was tough.  We missed several of those that Bill Hyams is going to see but will get them next time.  The "rain forest" of Olympic N.P. in Washington was beautiful but the drive around the east & north sides is long, long.

The Redwood Forest is beautiful, the Sequoia N.P. is beautiful, especially in snow covered January with few tourists on an earlier trip before we got the trailer.  We had to miss Yosemite N.P. because I got food poisoning at a little grocery/deli near the south entrance on the west side of the road, stay out of there, six days in bed.

As Bill Hyams said Glacier N.P. has to be the best, or close to it.  Save up a few pennies and take the helicopter tour, the Going to the Sun Highway from W. Glacier to St. Marys, put your canoe in the water of Lake McDonald, take the inside the park dirt road from Apgar Campground to Pole Bridge up near the Canadian border.

Nuff sed!  I think I've already said some of this on another post.  Brings to mind the song, America, the Beautiful, there is just so much beauty here to see and experience.  Hope all get a chance to do it.

Once we get past this reunion, we'll be singing "on the road again".  And then, there's that other song "Detour".