I left my home in Yosemite with a few tears but was also anxious to get home to my friends, family, and my pups. So long Cabin #9. . .
Cabin #9
I spent my first night on the road in Fresno, then on to Orange County and a visit with my cousins in Yorba Linda and a dear friend in Laguna Woods. From there it was a stay in a beautiful bed and breakfast on the upper side of Joshua Tree National park. The resident owl was a great plus to my stay here.
It was on to Tuscon then and a few days with the Browns. It was a treat to be able to connect with someone I met first in 1977 and last saw 10ish years ago and pick up as if we had never been apart. What a great couple days together. (Complete forgot to take pictures!)
Daughter Jennifer flew in to Tuscon and we drove back to Dallas together. What a fun time we had. Jen bought lottery tickets for us and we won $200! Woo Hoo!
Daughter Melissa flew in from San Antonio and we shared Christmas with family. She dressed up as a dinosaur and the twins LOVED it!
The twins with the dinosaur waiting on the school bus.These boys were so excited about Christmas and the dinosaur both!
Then it was home to my puppies. Gus and Lou were waiting on the front porch for me and were so excited but not near as much as me. I missed them so very much. Good to be home again.
On a final note I send love, hugs and kudos to all my Yosemite friends who made this trip such a treat. Madeline, my fellow volunteer and new BFF, composed a YouTube video of some of my experiences here. What a great gift this was and you can watch it if you like by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abUcaAMMTF8 or clicking on the play button in the video below.
I hope that each of you will consider volunteering with our National Parks. What a gift these past 10 years have been for me. It is a chance to give back, meet new friends, learn new things, and make a difference. I love it and cannot wait to tell you about my next adventure. We’ll talk soon. Hugs to all.
My goal for the coming year will be to serve my remaining 500ish hours to secure the Presidential Lifetime Service Award with over 4,000 hours of service. I’ll do that by returning to my local NPS park, San Antonio Missions a couple days each week.
Please forgive all errors, take care of yourselves, stay safe and blessings to all.
I certainly hated to see my final week end in Yosemite. It was a beautiful week with cool mornings and warm afternoons. Yosemite Falls was flowing with water (the first since soon after I arrived.) In fact, my final day, Thursday, ended with a rainbow shining over the middle of it.
Do you see the rainbow?
Madeline and I spent Thanksgiving day at the library as she built a Christmas Tree using old books. My part was to hand her like-sized book as she built the tree (ha!). It was so fun to help her do this! Isn’t it cute . . . who knew you could make a tree from books!
The next day we went shopping for decorations and other sundry items in Mariposa and Oakhurst. We found lights and other things to make Christmas come alive in the library. A beautiful poinsettia, some lights and a little garland. When Virginia came in on Monday she was both surprised and excited! Who wouldn’t be. Take a look at the end result.
We also added (Okay, well Madeline added) another important member to our library family. . . the Raven. Just like the Ringtail Cat, we have a fellow raven who comes daily to sit on the window and we listen to his calls to his friends. So, we just had to add him to our family. Here he is enjoying a flight from the rafter . . .
The Research Library Raven
My last week here was filled with moments with some of the best folks ever. I’m so lucky to have met so many great and inspiring people. And many will be life-long friends. These moments are truly blessings in this volunteer life! (Mary Simmons – we will be talking soon!)
We continued our work on the Alpine Collection which is my final library project. Elizabeth will be here another couple weeks and I have no doubt this will be completed before she leaves. Then it will be Madeline who will re-arrange the stacks to integrate this collection into the entire collection.
What a great group picture of the volunteers with the Research Librarian and her sidekick Maraca. Notice the sign . . . It says “In a world where you can be anything be kind (and then they crossed out ‘kind’ and added Mara.)On my final day, Librarian Virginia came dressed in full uniform as did Maracca. What a sweet pair they are.
And they put together, with the help of Elizabeth and Madeline, quite the spread for a perfect last day of sharing with friends.
Elizabeth came in early to set up things. I arrived to a spread that beat all spreads. What a perfect way to end my time here. I loved it and feel so grateful!This 4-layer vanilla cake was the BEST ever. I’m not telling how much of it I ate but rest assured every bite was just superb.
Check out of our friends who came by to say ‘so long’ . . .
Meet Caroline and Mark
Madeline, my fellow volunteer, composed a YouTube video of some of my experiences here. What a great gift this was and you can watch it if you like by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abUcaAMMTF8
Please forgive all errors, take care of yourselves, stay safe and blessings to all.
This week saw the first snow of the season in the Valley. There really are no adequate words to describe the beauty of Yosemite when you see it in person. The mountains, the trees, the wildlife, the power in how it all comes together is spectacular . . . truly a sight to behold. Here are some pictures to share a bit of its beauty on a snowy wintry morning.
The snow is coming. The fog has already arrived.And then the snow arrives. That’s Yosemite Falls in the background.
Sentinal bridge
A walk in the valley. That’s Ansel Adams Studio on the left.The Museum.
Stunning!
Madeline, Elizabeth and I carpool each day. We watched the weather carefully this week to make certain we didn’t get into too much ice on the roads. It was my week to drive and I do carry chains with me. But I absolutely did NOT want to have to install them. We decided early on if the weather was too bad we would take the bus! Slow and cautious were the words for the morning runs on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, definitely worth the drive as it was beautiful. And we were not required to put on the chains. YES!
I spent Tuesday in the Welcome Center as usual. The visitor count was up from last week and we had a very steady flow of questions. Had a couple folks with questions about backpacking overnight at higher elevations. While I have learned the rules and requirements for those events I will never feel comfortable advising them on locations. I’m very fearful of someone being stranded in the wrong place. I’m certain it is because I have no personal experience of a backpacking nature (and not likely to obtain any in my lifetime!).
Wednesday brought us a very special event . . . a zoom call with none other than Yosemite’s own Shelton Johnson, distinguished ranger and author. What a treat to have an opportunity for a very personal meeting with him and listen to his background and history. Shelton is the author of Gloryland, a work of historical fiction which tells the story of Elijah Yancey, an American with African, Seminole and Cherokee roots, who is born in South Carolina and grows up to be a Buffalo soldier who spends one year patrolling Yosemite National Park. Definitely worth a read and even more so a listen. I encourage you to get this book on audible and listen to him as he tells this story. He has the most beautiful voice and his delivery will move you to places you’ve never been before.
Our next project is focused on the Alpine Collection – The American Alpine Club is the oldest organization in the American climbing community. The club’s mission is to support climbers and outdoor recreation, and to advocate for the preservation of natural landscapes and wild places. In 2023, the AAC (American Alpine Club) and Yosemite National Park signed a General Agreement to promote and support climbing in Yosemite Valley. The agreement includes responsibilities like encouraging responsible climbing practices, maintaining climbing infrastructure, and working on impact mitigation projects. In addition, the AAC donated a collection of books to the Research Library. Our project for the next few weeks is to catalogue and integrate this collection into the library collection. We are making great progress but it’s going to take several weeks to complete.
Finally, our most famous guest this week was Mighty Maraca’s brother, Jaspar T. Dawg, a beautiful 115 lb. Great Pyrenese, who joined us for a couple hours on Wednesday. We hope Jaspar will return soon. What a delight it was to have Jaspar AND Maraca with us, if only for a couple hours. Did I mention Mighty Maraca weighs in at 6.5 lb! Can you find her in the picture below?
Thanksgiving was a relaxing day. Madeline and I went into the Valley and worked a bit on the cataloguing. Then spent Friday in Mariposa Black Friday shopping. We found some special items to help us decorate the library for the holidays and will be sending you pictures of our decorating next week.
This is my final week. I’ll be leaving here on Friday to begin my journey home. Looking forward to visiting my friends in Southern California and then on to Joshua Tree National Park. After that it will be a stop to visit friends in Tuscon and to pick up daughter Jennifer who will join me for the drive from Tuscon to Dallas. What a bittersweet departure this is going to be. I’ve had such a wonderful time and I’m so glad the powers that be allowed me to be here. THANK YOU Yosemite National Park!
Please forgive all errors, take care of yourselves, stay safe and blessings to all.
