Upon awaking the next day aftere the death march, we vowed to take it easy. We talked about going for another, shorter hike but knew that we were probably just kidding ourselves. We decided to do a bit of driving tour of Yosemite with stops up at Glacier Point and at Tunnel View (which is essentially the point from which most postcard photographs are taken....it's pretty). The trail head for Sentinel Dome is on Glacier Point Road and we discussed making the two mile hike but ultimately decided against it when we got up there.
This morning was bearless. (Sad face)
We started our drive up Glacier Point Rd and I noticed Richard's brakes (Richard is our 2004 Honda Accord) making a grating/scraping noise. This is not something that you want to hear on a mountain road. However, it appeared that Richard was having no trouble stopping (he just insisted on complaining a bit about the torture we've put him through over the last couple weeks) and I was only putting the lives of my wife and Liz in danger so it didn't really seem like an emergency. After a bit of driving, we arrived at Washburn Point. Washburn Point is like a mile from Glacier Point and affords visitors almost an identical view. After stopping at Washburn Point, I'm convinced that when my parents took me to Yosemite as a child they stopped at Washburn Point and told us it was Glacier Point because they didn't want to put up with the crowds. I literally remembered nothing from the real Glacier Point and my memory of Glacier Point looked exactly like Washburn. Damn my parents. Anyway, after a brief stop at Washburn Point to take a couple pictures, we soldiered on to Glacier Point to eat lunch and enjoy the view.
Glacier Point (much like Washburn Point) is incredible. You can see for miles. It overlooks the entire Yosemite Valley and has a sheer drop of about 3000 feet to the valley floor. Some people had climbed over certain fences to sunbathe on rocks or just hang out. I, once again thinking about Real TV/America's Funniest Home Videos, decided to stay where the rangers wanted me. The view was certainly good enough from there. There is one outcropping of rock that people used to climb out on and do crazy things for pictures that is now closed off.
We fought off the relentless bee attacks while we ate our lunch of Nutty Buddies, Salt and Pepper Kettle Krinkle Cut Potato chips (best chips ever) and leftover pizza from the previous night. Afterwards, we sat and read books for a bit while we looked out over the (Christian) Lord's creation.
I spent a little time reading the night before in our guidebook about the history of Yosemite. Turns out, the first europeans to stumble upon the valley where men from the Mariposa Battalion who had been sent to kill Indians that they believed were trying to steal "their" gold. Fun fact #2: The name Yosemite is believed to come from the Ahwatchee word for bear (uzumate) which was misunderstood by a member of the Mariposa Battalion. The initial spelling was Yosemity.
From Glacier Point, we headed toward Yosemite Village with a stop at Tunnel View for a photo. We went to the Yosemite Lodge because we understood that we could reconnect with civilization there via the interweb. I had been wondering all day about the score of the Buckeyes football match and when I got online I discovered the game had yet to be played. I headed over to the Sportsbar that is part of the lodge compound and spoke to the manager who told me that he was pretty sure they had Big Ten Network and we would be able to watch the game. Hopes = up. I go tell Kate and Liz the good news. They are excited to sit and drink beer and watch football. I head back over to the sports bar to get us a table. The manager has no disappeared. I stood around sheepishly for a little while before I got up the nerve to ask one of the waiters. The interaction was pretty fantastic.
"Um, so, uh, I was, uh, in here about fifteen minutes ago and I spoke to a guy. And he was the manager. And he SAID that I could watch the football game and that you guys had the Big Ten Network and you would turn it on for me."
"OK, what game was it?"
"It's the Ohio State game. The Ohio State-Indiana game. Ohio State Buckeyes and The Indiana University Hoosiers. It's on the Big Ten Network and I would like to watch it. And we'll buy beer if you show it to us."
The guy has me follow him over to the bar to assist in the search for the channel. He goes through the channels a bit and stops on each college football game as though I didn't tell him that it was on the Big Ten Network.
"I think it's on the Big Ten Network," I say again trying not to sound like an obsessive dick.
After a few minutes, it becomes clear that they do NOT have the Big Ten Network and we will not be able to watch the game. Conveniently for him, the manager has still not shown his face and escapes with his life. I, on the other hand, leave the establishment feeling dejected and fooled.
It looked as though they had all the Fox Sports regional channels and I could have watst Blched the first Bluejackets game of the year. It seemed unlikely that Liz and Kate and Liz would indulge this request so I kept it to myself in an attempt to not appear totally absorbed by sports.
Personal victory of the day: As we arrived at the Yosemite lodge to use the internets, the place was crawling with Frenchies (this is the preferred nomenclature). As I was walking to the sports bar for the first time, there was a group of them assembled around a couple of squirrels and a few of them were taking pictures. I, totally oblivious to this, walked right through the group and scared the squirrels away. The Frenchies pretended to be upset and were jokingly chastising me for ruining everything. One of them asked what I did as I made it out of the group and I, without missing a beat, replied in French that I had done nothing. The whole group was flabbergasted and so impressed with my french skills that they welcomed me as one of their own and insisted that I spend the rest of the evening with them drinking Kir Royales and eating cheese. Some of this story is a fabrication.
This morning was bearless. (Sad face)
We started our drive up Glacier Point Rd and I noticed Richard's brakes (Richard is our 2004 Honda Accord) making a grating/scraping noise. This is not something that you want to hear on a mountain road. However, it appeared that Richard was having no trouble stopping (he just insisted on complaining a bit about the torture we've put him through over the last couple weeks) and I was only putting the lives of my wife and Liz in danger so it didn't really seem like an emergency. After a bit of driving, we arrived at Washburn Point. Washburn Point is like a mile from Glacier Point and affords visitors almost an identical view. After stopping at Washburn Point, I'm convinced that when my parents took me to Yosemite as a child they stopped at Washburn Point and told us it was Glacier Point because they didn't want to put up with the crowds. I literally remembered nothing from the real Glacier Point and my memory of Glacier Point looked exactly like Washburn. Damn my parents. Anyway, after a brief stop at Washburn Point to take a couple pictures, we soldiered on to Glacier Point to eat lunch and enjoy the view.
Glacier Point (much like Washburn Point) is incredible. You can see for miles. It overlooks the entire Yosemite Valley and has a sheer drop of about 3000 feet to the valley floor. Some people had climbed over certain fences to sunbathe on rocks or just hang out. I, once again thinking about Real TV/America's Funniest Home Videos, decided to stay where the rangers wanted me. The view was certainly good enough from there. There is one outcropping of rock that people used to climb out on and do crazy things for pictures that is now closed off.
We fought off the relentless bee attacks while we ate our lunch of Nutty Buddies, Salt and Pepper Kettle Krinkle Cut Potato chips (best chips ever) and leftover pizza from the previous night. Afterwards, we sat and read books for a bit while we looked out over the (Christian) Lord's creation.
I spent a little time reading the night before in our guidebook about the history of Yosemite. Turns out, the first europeans to stumble upon the valley where men from the Mariposa Battalion who had been sent to kill Indians that they believed were trying to steal "their" gold. Fun fact #2: The name Yosemite is believed to come from the Ahwatchee word for bear (uzumate) which was misunderstood by a member of the Mariposa Battalion. The initial spelling was Yosemity.
From Glacier Point, we headed toward Yosemite Village with a stop at Tunnel View for a photo. We went to the Yosemite Lodge because we understood that we could reconnect with civilization there via the interweb. I had been wondering all day about the score of the Buckeyes football match and when I got online I discovered the game had yet to be played. I headed over to the Sportsbar that is part of the lodge compound and spoke to the manager who told me that he was pretty sure they had Big Ten Network and we would be able to watch the game. Hopes = up. I go tell Kate and Liz the good news. They are excited to sit and drink beer and watch football. I head back over to the sports bar to get us a table. The manager has no disappeared. I stood around sheepishly for a little while before I got up the nerve to ask one of the waiters. The interaction was pretty fantastic.
"Um, so, uh, I was, uh, in here about fifteen minutes ago and I spoke to a guy. And he was the manager. And he SAID that I could watch the football game and that you guys had the Big Ten Network and you would turn it on for me."
"OK, what game was it?"
"It's the Ohio State game. The Ohio State-Indiana game. Ohio State Buckeyes and The Indiana University Hoosiers. It's on the Big Ten Network and I would like to watch it. And we'll buy beer if you show it to us."
The guy has me follow him over to the bar to assist in the search for the channel. He goes through the channels a bit and stops on each college football game as though I didn't tell him that it was on the Big Ten Network.
"I think it's on the Big Ten Network," I say again trying not to sound like an obsessive dick.
After a few minutes, it becomes clear that they do NOT have the Big Ten Network and we will not be able to watch the game. Conveniently for him, the manager has still not shown his face and escapes with his life. I, on the other hand, leave the establishment feeling dejected and fooled.
It looked as though they had all the Fox Sports regional channels and I could have watst Blched the first Bluejackets game of the year. It seemed unlikely that Liz and Kate and Liz would indulge this request so I kept it to myself in an attempt to not appear totally absorbed by sports.
Personal victory of the day: As we arrived at the Yosemite lodge to use the internets, the place was crawling with Frenchies (this is the preferred nomenclature). As I was walking to the sports bar for the first time, there was a group of them assembled around a couple of squirrels and a few of them were taking pictures. I, totally oblivious to this, walked right through the group and scared the squirrels away. The Frenchies pretended to be upset and were jokingly chastising me for ruining everything. One of them asked what I did as I made it out of the group and I, without missing a beat, replied in French that I had done nothing. The whole group was flabbergasted and so impressed with my french skills that they welcomed me as one of their own and insisted that I spend the rest of the evening with them drinking Kir Royales and eating cheese. Some of this story is a fabrication.
No comments:
Post a Comment