The Thin Blue Ride - Part 1 - Day 11

Yosemite – Day 3

Yosemite, CA: 0 Miles (RV)

Ride Report: None

Today’s report begins with a 1.5 hour scoot over to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias.  It was a beautiful day.  On the drive over we felt like we had the road to ourselves.  Prolly because everyone was coming to the Valley here in Yosemite, while we were in the Valley and headed WAY down South, near the exit.  Kinda like driving out of (insert big city here - take your pick) in the morning.  Everyone else wants in.  It was great.  Susan was mildly unnerved on that section of 41 where the edge of the highway was near the edge of the mountain.  As I write this, its raining outside, but when we arrived at the Mariposa Grove everything was bright and sunny…

OK - Susan has always wanted to see these, and I'm right there with her.

And it didn’t take long to run into a Giant Sequoia.

This is a small one.  The reader should take note of my photographic talent what with the sun "halo" surrounding the top of the tree.  That was by design.

Next thing we ran into was this…

If that last one was a baby, this one is like visiting the cemetery.  Apparently its been around since before the first European settlers arrived and may take several more centuries to decay.  Gotta love me some Park guys – they give ya all the details.

This is the root ball of the previously pictured dead Sequoia.  Apparently even the dead ones are named.  This is “Fallen Monarch”.  The Park guys/gals also claim it was in this condition when the first Europeans to the area saw it.

OK – this one is a teenager.  Apparently one can use the "pano” feature on an iphone while holding the phone in landscape position.  Pretty cool.

Next up on the hit parade were these...

Note the sign in the lower center of the pic - "Bachelor and Three Graces”.  He sounds like a skirt chaser to me.  I plan to call some of my feminist friends and have them get after the Park guys...

This next one is one famous tree.  Not being a Giant Sequoia guy before arriving I learned that this one, known as “Grizzly Giant” and was here when TR (that would be Theodore Roosevelt for those of you who slept thru history class) showed up with John Muir.  Mr. Muir was a naturalist and motivated TR to protect the Mariposa Grove by federal edict.  Hence, its part of Yosemite.  That big branch you see sticking out at 90 degrees on the right side of the tree is 7 feet across where it connect to the main trunk.  WOW!

Hey – if you’re a famous enough tree to have a name, you deserve a solo shot.  This, by the way, is the Giant Sequoia version of your Great Grand-pa: wrinkly, broken down, needs a cane, you get the idea.

This is the “California Tunnel Tree”.  Good thing the Park guys thought to include the state where the tree is located in the name.  At first I confused it with the one in Kansas and thought they stole ours.  Those Park guys think of everything.  The reader is obliged to forgive the cheesy tourist nature of the pic.  I mean really – why put a tunnel in it if we aren’t supposed to do the tourist thing?

The observant reader will have noticed that to this point, there has been no pics of either Susan or I in contact with an actual Giant Sequoia – well, absent the tunnel tree thing.  We saw several small signs 

at the base of the Sequoia’s saying that the site was “under repair” and thus “closed”.  We saw other signs saying that the multitude of tourist feet around the base of these giant trees could harm the tree leading to their eventual demise.  Apparently, Ponderosa Pines aren’t similarly affected since we could run circles around one if we wanted and no one would care.  However, the Park guys deigned to permit mere mortals to approach this tree and actually stand near it…

Yes – that’s an actual Giant Sequoia behind us.

As a side bar - I've been to California a number of times before this trip.  But all were enforced trips, meaning that they were work related and I didn't necessarily come voluntarily.  This trip was purely by choice.  Having now been in the state for a number of days, I think it obvious that I've been here too long.

C’mon now, use your imagination…

If the baby and the great grand-pa pics came earlier, this one is the middle aged Mom.

We spent several hours with the Giant Sequoias and I must say that it was time well spent.  I'd encourage anyone who has a chance to make the trip.  But while I could have stayed longer, I had the feeling that the Park guys/gals stirred the Sequoias up against me.  I can imagine no other reason that they would begin grumbling for me to depart.  But depart I did.  I suspect one of the Park guys/gals has taken umbrage at my mention of them in this blog.

Us, saying good-bye to grand-pa on the way out.

Bah - it was time to go anyway.  The scooter was feeling neglected by this time.  So much that so that upon arriving at Tunnel View overlooking the Yosemite Valley, he insisted on this selfie.

Not bad, but clearly not up to my standards.  See pic below...

HOLY COW!  Can you believe I took this with a phone!!!  WOW!  After taking the pic we headed down this narrow valley to the valley floor.  BTW – “Bridalveil”.  And don’t get after me about the spelling.  That’s how the Park Guys have it on the map.

Another waterfall... I believe this one is called “Ribbon Fall”.  How original.

This is us with Bridalveil in the background.  I thought Susan's smile was killer in this one.  The only reason I put it in the blog is because we look like a couple of geeks with the helmets on and it might embarrass the kids.

Till next time…