Yosemite National Park

[Blues]

Coming from the East Bay, Mapquest as well as the Yosemite web site shows two routes only 1 minute total driving time different. One is 120 East and the other is 140 East. Which is better?

Agree with luvsvacation22 -- 120 is a much easier drive. It's also at a little higher elevation, so much of it is in pleasant pine forest. I hate the drive on 140 through the Merced River canyon. It's so twisty, it makes me dizzy; and I always need a couple of hours to decompress after I get there.

-Bob

 

[Rene McDaniel]

I am also afraid of bears, so I completely understand your dilemma. If you do not mind getting up in the middle of the night with a flashlight to find the bathroom, then I say go for the Curry Village tents. In my opinion Camp Curry is more comfortable than Housekeeping. I like the enclosed tent verses the curtain at Housekeeping. It gives me the illusion that a bear can't come in. You will also get the complete "In the Park" experience.

However, if it were my decision... I would not want to get up in the middle of the night flashlight in hand, wondering if I would encounter a bear making a trip to the bathroom. If there is not hotel-room lodging in the park, I would vote Wawona. I rather drive and sleep well than worry and not get any sleep.

Yes, those curtains-for-a-door at Housekeeping camp are such a joke. The 1st night we were there, when I heard the bear growling & the rangers shooting pellets, I could not sleep for the next 3 or 4 hours! I kept hearing scratching next to the block wall like something was trying to get into our bear-proof locker. I was terrified the whole night thinking the bear was right outside, and feeling "please bear, just take all our food & go!"

Okay, I wake up the next morning & find out there are a family of squirrels who live under our bear-proof food locker. Who knew that squirrels were up all hours of the night?? Geez.

Then, to add insult to injury... I see the family next to us with teens who slept outdoors in their hammocks all night... in the midst of the bear going through, the park rangers shooting rubber pellets, etc. They slept through everything. I am SUCH a wuss.

I was thinking that maybe at Curry Village the tents are so close together and there is so much snoring & noise & commotion, that maybe the bears wouldn't like it over there. I know logically, that any stray bears roaming around the park at night don't want to eat me. (This is what the park rangers tell me.) Any bears are looking for yummy people food that some idiot has forgotten to put away properly. I am just worried that being the clutz I am, I will somehow manage to trip onto/over a bear in the middle of the night, step on his foot -- or somehow do something that will MAKE an otherwise easy-going bear who is sniffing his way to someone's lost Rice Crispy treat .... very very mad!

---- Rene

Oh yes. Still checking that some hotel space in the valley will open up. Awanahee for $550/night is available, but that's way out of our budget!

 

[Serina]

Just got back from Yosemite and loved it. For those that have not been there, I would recommend taking the 'grand tour'...it's a great tour of many of the 'main' sights of the park. The next day we went exploring on our own with the knowledge we gained from the tour. What an amazing place!

 

[Rene McDaniel]

Just got back from Yosemite and loved it. For those that have not been there, I would recommend taking the 'grand tour'...it's a great tour of many of the 'main' sights of the park. The next day we went exploring on our own with the knowledge we gained from the tour. What an amazing place!

Serina,
So where did you stay? How was Yosemite in August? Were the waterfalls still going? I'd love to hear more about your visit there.

--- Rene

 

[Serina]

Rene: We stayed at The Ahwahnee. The grand tour I referenced earlier included lunch at The Wawona so we had an opportunity to explore it. Wawona would have been our second choice...it seemed nice too although it was much further from the 'main sights'. We are not 'campers' but do love the National Parks so hotels work best for us. The waterfalls were still flowing this August but we were told that is not the norm...they had record snow this winter hence falls are still visible. Let me know if you have any other questions.