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Another year gone by and another birthday trip for Jay to Yosemite in the winter. The weather was questionable and so was the drive up. It was raining in the Bay Area and I was afraid we might have to use chains along highway 120. However, that was not necessary. Our destination this time was the Tenaya Lodge, just south of the park. This meant going through the valley where we made a brief stop.


   

 

 

We also stopped at the 'donor's wall' behind the visitors center and noticed our name was still in the book. In return for making an annual donation, we get a 'passport' with several coupons for reduced rates for lodging, food and some of the activities such as renting bicycles, etc. The money collected by the Yosemite Fund is used to make improvements throughout the park.

 

Heading south on highway 41, and just before entering the tunnel, you come to one of the best views of the valley. When the weather changes, so does the scenery. The pictures below were taken at the same spot. The last one was taken when we were coming back two days later.






We stayed at the Tenaya Lodge for two nights. We wanted to do some snow shoeing, but the following morning the weather looked like more rain or snow, so we decided to take a hike to the Mariposa grove of giant sequoia trees. The road there was closed but one side had been plowed so we could walk the two miles without snow shoes.

 

 

Part of the trail was barren, part still covered with a light dusting of new snow, and part full of old snow. So the going was slow but interesting. At one point Jay had to leave his mark on a tree trunk.


   

 
At the entrance to the grove we were greeted by a couple of the sequoias. They are truly giants and these are some of the smaller ones. The main grove is further east as indicated by the map that was partly under the snow. However, our trail had ended and now we wished we had brought the snow shoes.

 


The gift shop may have been closed, but at least the bathrooms were not.

 


We were very lucky with the weather. On the way back to the car it started to rain but we only had a hundred yards to go. Then the rain turned into to hail and the drive back to the lodge was very slow. Later we relaxed in the spa and indoor pool and since it was Jay's birthday, we had dinner at the lodge with our friends Ray and Pat.


 

The staff and management of the lodge had been very nice to us. We had a great 'fruit basket' in our room that included a bottle of wine and then for desert they presented me with a special 'french fries' dish that actually was made with deep fried pound cake and a strawberry 'ketchup'. The following morning we packed up and had a beautiful sunny day as we made a couple more stops at the Wawona Hotel (it was closed for part of the winter) and the Yosemite Valley.


   

The path to Bridal Veil Falls was icy and the going was tough. But Yosemite Falls was spectacular, as always. Notice the snow cone at the bottom of the Upper Falls and some people at the base of Lower Falls (they are barely visible). It reminded me about the time when there was no water coming down the falls.

   


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