Tag Archives: Yosemite

The Ahwahnee

Posted on by
Reply
Stain Glass Window at the Ahwahnee

Stain Glass Window at the Ahwahnee

Today was a rainy, lazy Sunday. The rain moved in last night and continued until noon today. Anne and I did make it outside for a walk before sundown, but mostly, we busied ourselves with various arts and crafts. Anne worked on her current knitting project and I got around to taking some arty photos that I’ve been pondering for a while. I’ll roll them out later this week.

We’ve rethought our proposed trip to Washington DC and have instead settled on a long weekend in Chicago. A combination of the state of our finances (taxes) and a timely Post-Dispatch Travel section article on winter getaways to the Windy City convinced us that this more modest trip idea was the smarter way to go. I’ve already thankfully declined our two US Senator’s invitations for DC tours.

Instead of driving there, we’ll be taking Mega-Bus. Anne has been using Mega-Bus for several years now on her annual summer migration back north. Mega-Bus will take both of us from Union Station in Saint Louis to Chicago’s Union Station and back again, for the mere sum of $26.50. That’s right folks two-people, roundtrip all for less than the price of one tank of gas. The Prius would have cost at least twice as much, plus its wear in mileage. It will probably cost more getting to and from the two Union Stations than it will to get between them. Plus, Mega-Bus offers free wi-fi, so I can live blog about the passing Illinois cornfields, kidding. It will be an adventure, at least that’s what Anne tells me.

We’ve booked a hotel room in downtown Chicago, instead of our usual Oak Park venue. This will put us close to the lakefront museums. The Post article recommended either buying a Saint Louis Science Center membership and then using the reciprocity agreement between our science center and some of the Chicago museums or getting a Chicago City Pass . I’ll have to run the numbers, or better ask Anne.

Anne took this photo of a stain glass window at the Ahwahnee. The Ahwahnee Hotel is a destination hotel in Yosemite National Park. It is located at the north end of the Yosemite Valley floor. It opened in 1927 and is a premiere example of National Park Service rustic architecture, and was declared a National Historic Landmark. When we stayed in Yosemite last summer, we visited, but did not lodge at the Ahwahnee. It’s room’s range in price from $439 to $1015 per night. We lodged in a much more affordable Curry Village tent cabin, with a steel bear box out front and mice with their Hantavirus in the neighborhood.

Christmas Morning

Posted on by
Reply
Yosemite Chapel

Yosemite Chapel

All the shopping is done. I know this because, my credit card lays at my feet, panting, like a hound that accompanied me on a 5K run. But I promise no ranting, at least, until the new year’s bills are all read. I sit here, in front of this computer, as quiet as a mouse, because Anne and the boys are still nestled in bed. The furnace kicks-off and whirls like a jet, but other than that there are no other sounds, save the creaks of this old house. It is an hour of peace that is mine to enjoy. Ahead lies Christmas Day, a day full of hustle and bustle, family and friends, a day full of presents, cooking and cleaning and lots of good eating. At the end of the day, once all the packages are unwrapped and all the good food eaten, peace should return to this home, in the form of new fallen snow. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good day!

No Eye Deer

Posted on by
1
The Merced River with the Upper Yosemite Falls in the Background

The Merced River with the Upper Yosemite Falls in the Background

What’s the difference between beer nuts and deer nuts?
Beer nuts are $4.29, but deer nuts are always under a buck.

I was in Starbuck last morning. I was in line to place my order, when I saw a uniformed police women waiting for her beverage to be made. I looked at her, but I didn’t want to eyeball her, but she looked like the police detective from last week’s trial. Someone, who I definitely don’t want to meet again. She had the same height, weight, hair and face as that detective, but she was in a Clayton police officer’s uniform and the detective was a county cop. I related this episode to my friend, whose nom de guerre is the Perma-Bear and he had a scary thought, “Maybe she is her sister?”

Two lawyers were out hunting,
When they came upon a pair of tracks.
They stopped and examined the tracks closely.

The first lawyer announced,
“Those are deer tracks.
It’s deer season,
So we should follow the tracks
And find our prey.”

The second lawyer responded,
“Those are clearly elk tracks,
And elk are out of season.
If we follow your advice,
We’ll waste the day.”

Each attorney believed himself,
The Superior woodsman,
And they both bitterly stuck to their guns.
They were still arguing when the train hit them.

I don’t understand why people tend to get their undies all in a bunch at this time of year. I understand that it is the end of the calendar year, but their will be a 2013. Maybe, everyone is holding with the Mayan calendar’s end of the world prediction. If so, then there will be a lot of people doing some emergency Christmas shopping on December 22nd. No, this end of the year angst is perennial.

Some of it is business driven, books must be balanced. Some of it is driven by the frenetic activity burgeoned upon us, by the ever flourishing holiday season. Note, I did not attack Christmas here. I think that the end of a calendar year psychologically causes us to hold ourselves to account, both real and unreal. I’m not saying that taking stock is a bad thing. Quite the contrary, but I am arguing against taking ourselves to the stocks. I hope my humor has helped, but ultimately, I have no idea, my dear.

When I breezed into the office last morning, I overheard my boss posing the following joke. I got there too late to hear the send up, but I thought that it was still worth relating. I’m sure that it was his response to some question that he could not answer. I thought that it was funny.

What do you call a deer with no eyes?

Dan-isms

Posted on by
1

Yosemite Sagebrush Lizard

The Dan referred to in this post is a friend of mine. Dan shared with me some of his accumulated wisdom about the modern workplace. As background, we both work in office environments, for large companies. The reader should be warned that Dan holds a rather sardonic opinion on work. Here are a few of my favorites from his much longer list.

  • Engineers are like machines which turn coffee into PowerPoint presentations.
  • Never under any circumstances drink a large cup of coffee before a three-hour staff meeting. [I wish that I had known this before this week’s staff meeting.]
  • If you think nobody cares, miss all of your meetings. You’ll know for sure in a week, one way or the other.
  • There are two ways to argue your point, yell and yell louder. [If you say it long enough and loud enough, it has got to be true, right?]
  • A closed mouth gathers no budget. [This is sort of the opposite of the squeaky wheel gets the grease.]

The Yosemite Sagebrush Lizard pictured with this post was photographed at the overlook between the upper and lower Yosemite Falls. This is located a good thousand feet above the valley floor. He is about a foot in length. Since he was encountered at the halfway point, this begs the question, did he climb up or did he climb down? Either way it makes for a long journey, maybe even a generational one.

The Woodcutter

Posted on by
Reply

Remains of the mill-race

In 1869, innkeeper James Hutchings hired a young wilderness explorer named John Muir to rebuild and operate his sawmill. Muir worked there for almost two years, milling trees blown down in a storm to build improvements at Hutchings’ Yosemite Valley hotel. A plaque by this site has a 1940 photograph of John Muir at the mill-race site. The plaque is also the source for this post. The plaque’s photo shows a channel that was dug to divert water from Yosemite Creek. Muir used this water to power his sawmill and irrigate Hutchings’ apple orchid. In the shadow of Yosemite Falls, Muir lived in his so-called “hang nest”, a boxy retreat he attached to his sawmill. The picture included with this post shows the woods in the vicinity of the old mill-race.

As long as I live, I’ll hear
waterfalls and birds and
winds sing. I’ll interpret the
rocks, learn the language of
flood, storm, and the avalanche.
I’ll acquaint myself with the
glaciers and wild gardens, and
get as near to the heart of the
world as I can. – John Muir