Kiwis and Fairy Bread

26 June 2025

It’s no surprise that Mike and I were very sore today. Walking, especially up and down steps, was painful. This was a great reason to have an easy day and explore parts of the valley that did not require physical exertion.

Keeping to our early bird gets the parking space mantra, we packed our lunch, skipped stopping for another pic at the iconic Tunnel View, turned into Yosemite Visitors Lot A1 at 10am to the same primo parking spot we’d had on Day 1! Well done, Mike!

On the way for a coffee, we watched a deer and a pretty fox cross the street to a meadow. Coffee in hand, we chatted with three backpackers who were hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Running 2,653 miles from Mexico to Canada, the trail runs through state and national parks and to a peak elevation of 13,000 feet! In comparison, the Appalachian Trail is 400 miles shorter and gets up to just 5000 feet. Only 14% of hikers complete the PCT. These hikers were going twenty miles per day. We hope they make it.

In the Ansel Adams Gallery we stopped to see if we could find a picture of Virginia Adams. During our class the other day we’d been told about a photograph that Ansel had taken of her on the “Diving Board” of half dome. It’s apparently quite a perilous perch. Upon asking about it we were rewarded by not only the photo, but also a film that was made of her ascent! It was crazy! Imagine the strength, balance and patience it took to bring all that heavy 1920’s equipment way up there, let alone the guts and skill of Virginia herself. Impressive! I really need to find a book about her, the great woman beside the great man.

At the gallery is where we came across Elise. Turns out that not only had our paths crossed at Nevada Fall, but she lives up in near Scenic Wonders, our apartment complex. She had even been driving behind us when we saw that bear family the other day. As crowded as the park is, we would often run into the same people throughout our visit.

It was nice to have time to explore the museum about Yosemite’s geological history and of the people who have lived here. Outside the building is a re-creation of a settlement of the Ahwaneechee Indian tribe. I found it very sad. It was run down and neglected. This area once had a population of over 300,000 indigenous people. They took care of the land they lived in. They managed the forest to grow oak trees that provided the acorns that were a staple of their diet. They fished, hunted, and thrived in this incredibly beautiful place. When The Gold Rush brought over 60,000 European Americans to this state it lead to the California Genocide, legally killing over 16,000 Indians. The few who survived to live in Yosemite were forced out by the National Park system in the 1950s. Had their way of life been respected, had the US government worked with the tribal people to create and sustain this park, it would be an even richer place to be.

Our next stop was El Capitan, the 3000 foot granite monolith that helps to define the Yosemite skyline. Although Half Dome and Yosemite Falls are the main attractions here, I prefer El Capitan. It is impossible. And it is a popular place to rock climb.

We were fortunate to arrive during a talk by climber and National Park Ranger Gus Landerfield (don’t you just love that name?!) He had set up telescopes to view the ascents of several climbing teams. From the ground these teams look like mear specks. We were told that the red dot up there was “The Beer Guys”, who climb regularly while drinking a lot of beer. (Ranger Gus was not recommending it). We saw “The Dress Ladies” who climb in pioneer attire. A team in blue and orange were making slow but steady progress, and a solo climber was looking tired in the midday sun.

Gus and his climber friends on the ground showed us samples of climbing gear. Ascents take anywhere from a few hours to several days. It is too dangerous to descend back down the face of El Capitan, so much so that the National Park system does not allow it. To get down climbers take a route on the back side of El Capitan, using a series of steep trails and repelling. It was all fascinating. A great way to really look at the mountain. By trying to spot the climbers one notices infinite shapes and colors and crevices in the granite. It’s a work of art.

Now if you are Trekkie, you might recall a rather silly scene in the beginning of the film, Star Trek V The Final Frontier that takes place at El Capitan. Captain Kirk is free climbing (meaning using no ropes or clips) wearing a shirt that says Go Climb a Rock. Spock flies in on booster-boots with, of course, an urgent message. They then join McCoy for a camp fire. I have to rewatch it now to see if any of it looks real. A much more accurate film is Free Solo, the 2019 Oscar Winning documentary, which recounts an actual accent. It’s on our watch list.

This shady educational spot across from El Capitan is on a river bank beside a bridge and there was plenty going on. People were fishing and swimming. A pair of women paddle boarded with their little dog. Several tanned and buff young men were jumping into the river, at the point where it is about twelve feet deep. Flips and jumps were cheered, applauded and videoed. There was a lot of laughter.

We hopped on a bus again and headed to the Ahwahnee Hotel, the oldest and most expensive place to stay in The Valley. It was an awful ride. The bus was crammed tight with visitors and we were on it for over half an hour. I got pushed all the way to the back, half a bus away from Mike and eventually wiggled my way back. Seeing my bandaged hand, people kept offering me seats. Very kind, but others needed it more. Finally at our stop, we assisted an elderly couple to battle their way out the back door of the bus. We were all relieved to be out.

Built in 1927 The Ahwahnee Hotel was clearly elegant and grand at one time, but is showing its age. Dark wood paneling, in the bar, towering stained glass windows in the dining room, old dusty handmade Ahwahnee baskets in display cases. We took a seat on the lawn and ate granola bars as people drank, played card games, and kids ran by with pool tubes. A wedding party walked through, likely going somewhere for a photo. The bride and groom didn’t even look at each other. Everyone seemed a little bothered. Sigh. Why have a pricey wedding in such a place if you don’t even see the beauty in each other?

Mike and I wandered up stairs, through hallways, out a door, down a path, over a bridge. Families were biking on the paved trail and swimming and tubing in the slow moving river.

Yosemite Falls towered above and we were reminded of a scene in The Cain Mutiny, where a naive lieutenant on leave awkwardly does not propose to his girl friend. She’s a good sport though and they watch a bonfire go over the falls and light it up. For decades this was something that was done at various park locations to attract visitors. It wasn’t until 1968 that the director of the park deemed it too showy, and promoted more educational programs. It is unthinkable now with the greater risk of wildfires.

Back onto a less crowded bus to the visitors center where we encountered a family we’d met on The Mist Trail. The little girl had lead the way up and down those granite steps. I told her she was my hero. Together we watched a young deer with fuzzy horns. We have been told by staff that deer can be more dangerous than bears, as they are braver. We kept our distance.

Back to our primo parking space to head to our apartment. The sun was starting to set. Why not say good bye to Bridalveil Falls? Perfectly timed once again, we were rewarded by another rainbow. Two in fact. We stood and gazed. Big smiles. Wow! What a way to say good bye.

But we had one more sight we wanted to see: a completely dark, starry sky. So after dinner in the apartment, we got back in the car and Mike fearlessly drove a few miles down the winding road to a pull-out on a cliff. Getting out of the car I realized this was a truly insane idea. I clung to the rear view mirror to keep from stepping off the cliff, a mere six feet away from our parked car. We kept the car’s interior lights on so that we could be seen by passing automobiles. As Mike was setting up his little tripod, a car pulled up and parked. People got out and came towards us. We shouted out a greeting but heard only Chinese in return. I put my hand on the car handle, ready to jump in, lock the door and make a quick get away. But all was well. They were just there star gaze too. Phew! Weird, but,… phew!

The sky was indeed amazing! The stars so bright I felt I was in STAR WARS, seeing them through the window of The Millennium Falcon. The Big Dipper, Cygnus the swan, and The Milky Way. I gazed up and said hello to the intelligent beings I know are looking into their own starry skies, searching for us. Mike took the pics below and we laughed all the way home.