Last Day at Yosemite National Park – Tioga Road Pleasures (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.

Day #16 of our West Coast National Parks trip marked our third and final day in Yosemite.  It was definitely a whirlwind visit, but we did manage to squeeze quite a bit of sightseeing into those three days.  I have no doubt that we could easily while away at least two weeks in this magnificent Park.  Ah, if only we had the time.  The weather gods had granted us yet another blue sky day, and we wasted no time in heading out to explore the northern section of the Park.

Our campground, Hodgdon Meadow, was just inside the western boundary of the Park, off Big Oak Flat Road (Route 120).  At the Crane Flat gas station, about eight miles east of Hodgdon Meadow, we followed Route 120 east instead of turning south toward Yosemite Valley.  At that point, Big Oak Flat Road becomes Tioga Road, and it was along that road that we would spend our day.

Tenaya Lake

In describing our adventures in Yosemite, I may not have used these exact words up to this point but, almost everywhere you look in this Park, the scenery is absolutely stunning.  Water, woods, meadows and mountains – Yosemite has it all and in spades.  Blessed with beautiful weather to highlight the Park’s natural features, it was a pleasure just being outdoors, soaking up the views and trying to absorb the magnificence of the natural world – and the insignificance of our little selves within it.

Gorgeous views everywhere!

Olmstead Point was one of our first stops of the day.  The Point was named for landscape artists Frederick Law Olmstead and his son, Frederick, Jr.  In the 1860’s, more than 25 years before Yosemite was designated a National Park, Olmstead, Sr., was asked to prepare a plan for a park in Yosemite Valley.  Olmstead believed that the country should provide its citizens with access to nature, and his “Yosemite Report” created a framework for a national park system.  (Fun fact: Olmstead, Sr., designed New York City’s Central Park in the 1850’s.)  Olmstead Point overlooks Yosemite Valley from the east, and Half Dome is one of the most prominent points in the amazing vista.  In Yosemite, apparently, all views lead to Half Dome.

That's Half Dome, just to the right of center

We made a brief stop at Tuolumne Meadows and the Visitor Center there to enjoy the wide open spaces of the Meadows.  At the time this post was drafted in mid-May, Tuolumne Meadows was still under quite a bit of snowpack, and Tioga Road was expected to open later in the season than usual.  When that opening might occur is anybody’s guess.  As of mid-May, the National Park Service was advising visitors to call ahead for road conditions and tire chain requirements (209-372-0200, then 1 and 1). 

Tuolumne Meadows with a dramatic backdrop

Even though we knew Tioga Road was seasonal and always closed during the winter, we were still surprised to see patches of snow at Tioga Pass (elevation 9,945’) at the end of July.  In fact, before we continued east on Route 120 out of the Park and into the town of Lee Vining, Kyra and Alan couldn’t resist the thrill of a summertime snowball fight.  I don’t recall who won, but I do remember that the participants had a heck of a good time!

Christmas in July!

One of the many reasons I love to travel by RV is that we always have the option to bring everything we need to enjoy our favorite activities with us.  For this particular trip, we left our bikes and kayaks at home, but our cooler traveled with us – and came in handy more than once.  When we know we’ll be out and about in the Parks for a full day, we’ll pack the cooler with sandwiches, drinks and snacks, and then take advantage of picnic spots in delightful places.  (Having a refrigerator/freezer in the RV ensures that we always have plenty of ice packs ready to go.)  On that day, just a short drive past the Park’s eastern boundary, we found a small park with picnic tables in the town of Lee Vining.  Lunch with a lovely view of Mono Lake was an unexpected treat and a refreshing break from touring.  After we finished our leisurely meal and packed up our trusty cooler, we headed back into Yosemite to spend a relaxing afternoon enjoying our travels along Tioga Road.

Tioga Pass Entrance Station

Although we had passed Tenaya Lake as we made our way eastward along Tioga Road that morning, we decided to stop and spend some time there on our westbound return.  When we packed the cooler in the truck that morning, we also packed our camp chairs.  It was such a pleasure to set them up at the edge of the lake (or, in Alan’s case, actually in the lake), pull out the cooler (because, well, drinks and snacks!), soak up the ambience and cool off on a hot summer afternoon in a gem of a location.  In the grand scheme of things, life’s simple pleasures may be just small indulgences, but they can (and often do) add extraordinary dollops of joy to our days.

Alan relaxing at Tenaya Lake

Hanging out at peaceful and picturesque Tenaya Lake was a perfect way to end our stay in Yosemite National Park.  Despite being on the go for three full days, our “timeouts” at Cathedral Beach and Tenaya Lake allowed us the downtime we needed to relax and recharge.  I can’t imagine a more magical place to do that than Yosemite.   

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity.”

If you think that might be a quote from a National Park Service spokesperson in reference to society’s mad rush to the outdoors during the COVID pandemic, think again.  Those are John Muir’s words - which means they’ve been around for more than a century.  Some things never change.

It's true that our three very full days in Yosemite proved to be a whirlwind visit, but wait until you see the drive-through tour of San Francisco.  It felt like living life in fast-forward!  Beyond that, it’s on to Redwood State and National Parks.