Teedy and Johnnie and a Bear

We have this kids book called The Camping Trip That Changed America. It's a fictionalized account of the very real camping trip that Theodore Roosevelt (Teedy) and John Muir (Johnny) took to Yosemite during Roosevelt's presidency. It suggests (not exactly accurately) that this experience made Roosevelt a conservationist and ultimately led to the national parks system. But the book is a favorite of Maggie's, probably because of the scene where Roosevelt finally shakes the press, heads for the mountains, and shouts in glee "I feel like a runaway schoolboy!"

Because of that book, Yosemite was always going to be on our list if we could make it happen. We didn't nab a coveted camp site in the park, so we had a long drive in and back out on Friday. But it was definitely worth it. Once we got into Yosemite Valley we ditched the RV and took the bikes around to see the different magnificent viewpoints. El Capitan and Half Dome are just as amazing as you'd expect (and if you haven't seen Free Solo, definitely watch it before you visit... in fact, just go watch it tonight).

The highlight of the visit was our first bear sighting! We walked to Yosemite Falls, and on our way out heard people talking about a bear and saw a ranger with a tranquilizer dart gun. We stared into the woods like everyone else, but saw nothing, so we went on our way. Then a few hundred yards down the path and around a corner, I looked to my left and there she (or he) was. We were probably 30 feet away and about to cross a bridge, so we rapidly did that. Once Yosemite Creek was between us and the bear we took some great pictures.

A couple other observations:

- Spring is the season to visit these California parks, at least if the spring weather is like this. I wonder if we haven't been especially fortunate. Our Yosemite visit was on day 20 of the trip (half way!), and we had our first precipitation of any kind: about 5 minutes of very light drizzle. And the hike we took was to the Vernal Falls, and they were (unsurprisingly) gorgeous right now.

- We drove through several recently burned areas on our way into the Valley, including some from last year's forest fires. They are ugly and desolate and heart-breaking... and you can also see them starting to come back to life. It's an amazing cycle.

- I can't say enough about how amazing Marianne has been on this trip. I do most of the driving, which means she does most of the childcare while we're on the road. There have been countless hours of doing craft projects, telling stories, coloring, and who knows what else, most of which I get to listen in on. My favorites are hearing them go through the Junior Ranger activity books we've gotten at all the parks... Marianne's teacher side really comes out. But it's a lot of time, and she does all this while dealing with regular bouts of car-sickness, which is exacerbated by reading, and she never offers a word of complaint. When we finally got to Yosemite Valley I looked back and there was Marianne, lying on the couch in the RV, trying to calm her stomach and not throw up. She didn't, of course. And that's just one example - she's amazing.