How Well Do You Know The Tioga Road?
The Yosemite Association is having a Trivia Contest about the Tioga Road and man, they’ve got some toughies. I think I know the answer to only one of them. Check ‘em out.
Yosemite Blog
Returning To Yosemite
Stockton Record: “When I was a young child just beginning to walk, my parents took me to this special place where I learned the songs of the birds and the waterfalls, and the wind that blew mist into the air that created rainbows. I remember the intense feeling of comfort, as all of nature sang, and the immense granite walls were so tall that I’d almost fall over backwards trying to see their tops. As if cradled in my mother’s arms, that’s how tranquil I felt, just looking in awe.
Last week we revisited Yosemite Valley and, even after a half century of annual trips, my senses were never so keen. I realized a profound sense of permanency. The ages-old, glacially carved granite provided us solace and resolve that, while much of the world has gone mad, the natural processes here are in order — methodical, timeless and overwhelming. Extraordinary snow melt this year has turned its most famous waterfalls — Yosemite, Bridalveil and Vernal — into most exquisite plumes of frothy white, and allowed a plethora of other temporary waterfalls to drape the walls and spew some 5,000 feet down to the valley floor. Wherever we looked there was water.
The enormity of run off became apparent last month when we flew over California. Even at 34,000 feet, the Merced River appeared stark white as it bore through the valley and Nevada Falls stood out in the high country like a sparkling beacon.
‘We’ve got to go,’ I told my wife, Alexandra. ‘I can’t wait to see it.’”
Credit To The Photographer
If someone from the NPS is reading this blog and can tell me who’s taking the photos along the Tioga Road, please do. Drop me an email to, loyd@yosemiteblog.com. I’d like to give that person credit.
Cleaning Up The Mess
Yosemite Road crews are hard at work cleaning up this rockslide near Ohlmsted Point on the Tioga Road (Hwy. 120). If this is the rock I’m thinking it is, my wife and I have been wondering for a while now when it’s going to come down.
The Tioga Road, from Crane Flat to Mono Lake, is one of my more favorite parts of Yosemite. The change in environment from start to finish is marvelous. You start in pine-conifer forest at Crane Flat, cross through the transition zone to alpine and tundra, then end at high desert on the other side of the pass. Quite remarkable. It’s the equivalent of traveling several thousand miles north and back all in the distance of 60 miles.
Photo courtesy of National Park Service.
Yosemite Landscapes Collection On Display At Museum Gallery
Looking for something a little different to do on your next trip to Yosemite? Check out the Yosemite Landscapes Collection in the Museum Gallery. The collection comprises works from 1855-1991 and includes some of the earliest representations of the Valley by Thomas Ayres, Abert Bierstadt’s “Night at Valley View” and many, many more. The gallery is open daily, 10 - 12 am, 1-4 pm.
For over 30 years now I've enjoyed hiking, backpacking, fishing, photographing and exploring Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. 
