And . . . Ampersand! (National Parks Trip #3)

This post represents another installment in the series documenting our West Coast National Parks trip in the summer of 2017.  Alan and I, along with our 18 year old daughter, Kyra, logged a total of 8,513 memorable miles of adventure over the course of five and a half weeks during the months of July and August.

Despite the fact that Alan and I have been huge fans of our National Parks for more than 40 years, we had never visited Yosemite until this trip in 2017.  It was, in fact, the Park around which the entire trip was built.  To say we were excited about our next stop was an understatement.

Sorry to leave Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, but excited to move on!

We pulled out of Dorst Creek Campground in Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks on Day #13 of our expedition.  By nightfall, we would be tucked into our campsite at Hodgdon Meadow Campground in Yosemite National Park.  No hookups, no dump station, no problem.  We were thrilled that we would be waking up in the Park instead of outside of it, and we were eager to begin exploring this magical place that had bubbled near the top of our Bucket List for so many years.  With the drive from Dorst Creek to Hodgdon Meadow less than four hours, we knew we had plenty of time to squeeze in a culinary adventure.  And so, we found ourselves at Ampersand Ice Cream on North Echo Avenue in Fresno, California, shortly before the shop opened on a Monday morning.

Two bumps on a bench

North Echo is also called Tom Seaver Lane in honor of Major League Baseball’s well-known and well-respected pitching great.  “Tom Terrific” was born in Fresno, attended Fresno High School and played on the high school’s baseball team.  Best known as a player who helped lead the New York Mets to a World Championship in 1969, Seaver was a 12-time All Star.  In 1978, he pitched a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals.  His career record was a respectable 311 wins and 205 losses with a 2.86 ERA and 3,460 strikeouts.  Tom Seaver was inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992 and, sadly, passed away in August of 2020 at the age of 75.  He is still Fresno’s golden boy.  But, I digress.

While waiting on a bench outside the ice cream shop, we got into a conversation with one of the local residents, a friendly guy, who told us tales of growing up in Fresno and of the community’s history.  I later confirmed that Fresno was founded by the Central Pacific Railroad Company in 1872 when the company decided on the location for a new station.  Over the years, the Fresno area developed into a hotbed of agricultural production with grapes, almonds, peaches, nectarines and cotton (yes, cotton) becoming major crops.  According to the Fresno government, Fresno County is ranked first in the nation for agricultural production with annual sales of more than three billion dollars.  That is a LOT of peaches!  As it so happened, some of those peaches and nectarines ended up in our ice cream at the Ampersand Ice Cream shop.

The word “and” is a conjunction.  Merriam-Webster says it’s “used as a function word to indicate connection or addition.”  The word “ampersand” is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a character typically standing for the word ‘and.’”  When we stepped up to the counter at Ampersand Ice Cream, the first question we asked was, “Why ‘Ampersand?’”  For the life of me, I can’t remember the name of the delightful young woman behind the counter and that really ticks me off.  So, for the purpose of this blog post, I’ll just refer to her as Ms. Enthusiastic because, truly, that’s what she was.  She explained that the owners of the shop, Jeff and Amelia Bennett, intended the shop to act as a connection to the Fresno community that they love.  According to the company’s website, “The vision for Ampersand has always been to be the connecting place where great ice cream and community meet.”  In fact, “Where Great Ice Cream & Community Meet” is the Ampersand slogan.  Through Ampersand’s “Fresno Proud” Project, 2% of the shop’s cash sales are donated each month to deserving charities throughout the Fresno community - an admirable commitment on the part of Ampersand’s owners.

She was amazing and I feel awful about forgetting her name.

Ms. Enthusiastic had nothing but wonderful things to say about the Bennetts – and about the ice cream.  She cheerfully explained what went into the small batches of ice cream produced on a daily basis at the shop, and made it clear that she loved working there.  Alan, Kyra and I spent a long time looking at and discussing the posted flavor options and, ultimately, we each decided to order a Flight of Four.  There were those of us who would have opted for two Flights of Four, but cooler heads prevailed.  (Get it?  “Cooler heads?”  Never mind.)  Our middle of the day treat proved to be exceptionally scrumptious!

While I was drafting this post, Kyra and I spent 15 minutes trying to determine which flavors the three of us tried.  She specifically remembered braving the Sweet Corn ice cream, and said that it was delicious and she still thinks about it from time to time now, more than five years later.  I remember trying the Nectarine Sage and thinking it was to die for.  Other flavors from our Flights of Four that we could recall were the Rocky Road, Lanna Coffee, Peaches & Cream and Dark Chocolate.  We’re thinking that we tried the Honeycomb and Whiskey Caramel Swirl, too, but whether they were samples given to us by Ms. Enthusiastic or from our actual Flights of Four we couldn’t remember.  We did agree that we all thoroughly enjoyed every single flavor we tried, and that Ms. Enthusiastic’s knowledge and attitude made our visit to Ampersand Ice Cream way more than just a tasty stop on our way to Yosemite.  It was an extraordinarily delightful culinary adventure.

Kyra with our Flights of Four

Full of ice cream and anticipation, we made our way to Hodgdon Meadow Campground in Yosemite National Park.  You may recall my fear of heights from previous posts.  If you happen to have the same issue, be aware that entering Yosemite on Big Oak Flat Road is not for the faint of heart.  Steep drop-offs and guard rails that are just high enough to let you know you’re passing from one life to the next when you hit one needed to be endured before we reached the gate and I breathed a sigh of relief.

The entrance to Yosemite National Park on Big Oak Flat Road

Tucked away in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in the northwestern corner of Yosemite National Park, Hodgdon Meadow campground sits at an elevation of 4,875 feet.  The campground is forested with stands of Red fir, Ponderosa pine and Lodgepole pine, and it was a good fit for us.  Although we would, indeed, be waking up in the Park, it would still take a drive of 25 miles to reach Yosemite Valley.  A gas station and small general store at Crane Flat, just eight miles in toward the Valley, proved to be an excellent pit stop during our visit.

Tucked into Site #86 at Hodgdon Meadow Campground

We settled in for a four-night stay at Hodgdon Meadow, knowing that the next three days would be jam-packed with fun-filled explorations of this magnificent National Park and the incredibly memorable experiences that would accompany them.  Soon we would learn just how Bucket List worthy Yosemite was.