"It is easier to feel than to realize, or in any way explain, Yosemite grandeur. The magnitude of the rocks and trees and streams are so delicately harmonized, they are mostly hidden." —John Muir
Rollo & Penny
The telling of the story of this run is best done by the many pictures taken by our Club members. Six cars with 12 enthusiasts enjoyed the many twisty roads, DiCicco's Restaurant on Friday evening, a 7:30am departure from Best Western Hotel Saturday morning, and an intense day visiting Yosemite's grand sights.
Bridal Veil Falls and Yosemite Falls were almost unimaginable in their glory. At Happy Isles, the massive power of the snow runoff was displayed.
The Merced River was almost overflowing, and very rapid. Touring buses provided transportation about the Valley, providing a multitude of visual displays not available anywhere else.
An afternoon zoom-zoom trip up the mountain put us at Glacier Point, with a spectacular view of Yosemite Valley (snowed-in just 2 days later).
Most of the members made it to dinner at the Wawona Hotel, now called Big Trees. Fine foods and desserts were consumed and stories of our day's discoveries were shared.
On Sunday, only 4 hearty souls made the ride on the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad to see the living history of the old logging days.
It was exceptional; much chugging, steam blowing, temperature dropping, and imaginations in high gear thinking of all the tasks the lumberjacks had to perform on such steep mountain sides.
Steve & Susan
The drive to Yosemite was very pleasant, we had intermittent rain showers, but once we got to Oakhurst the weather was very nice. We met up with the rest of the gang at DiCicco’s restaurant and had a great time with excellent food and drink. Tom Woods, a long time BAMA member, joined us for the evening meal after showing off his new Fiat 124 Spider.
We had an early breakfast at the Best Western Hotel in Oakhurst and set out for the drive to Yosemite. Our first stop was the Tunnel View which was spectacular as always and whetted our appetite for more of Yosemite. From there we drove to Bridal Veil Falls. However, the Falls were streaming so much water that visitors coming from the Falls were soaking wet. A few passed along a plastic rain poncho to those who were brave enough to make the journey. We were not among those brave ones, however, Walt’s grandson, Devin, was among the brave and got some great shots of the Falls and came back rather soaked.
From there we attempted to find parking in the village, many others had the same idea and we after much searching abandoned that idea and headed for Glacier Point. We stopped at a pull over and found a picnic table where we had a quick packed lunch and got some great photos of our car with the Bridal Veil Falls as a back drop. The creek was high with rushing water, we couldn’t have planned a more picturesque picnic spot.
It was a chilly, foggy drive to the top and we were skeptical about the view once at the top. We were delighted to find sunny skies, big white fluffy clouds and warmer temperature. We spent a good deal of time there and got some great photos. We even saw a wedding party, including a cute flower girl, getting their photos taken. The bride was lovely and we’re sure their wedding photos will be spectacular. After munching on an ice cream bar and getting our fill of photos we headed back down the mountain.
On the way down Gary & Wendy passed us headed to the top. We pulled over at an overlook for another view of the beautiful scenery and before too long Gary & Wendy came back down the mountain and joined us. Shortly we had more BAMA members joining us at the overlook and had an impromptu meeting and discussion about our evening plans.
Later we all met up at Big Trees Hotel & Restaurant, formerly Wawona, and had a lively conversation and a sumptuous dinner.
Next morning most headed back towards home, four of us in two cars went on to the Yosemite Sugar Pine Railroad for a short trip around the mountain. It was a cold morning, we had heard some of the roads into Yosemite were closed due to icy conditions. It was cold enough to see our breath, several people, including us, waiting for the train bought extra blankets from the gift shop for the ride. Huddled under our blankets, we all enjoyed the chilly ride. Happy to have had a wonderful weekend with friends and spectacular scenery we headed home.
Photo album for the 2017 Yosemite Drive & Adventures >>