Yosemite National Park: It Rocks!

Do not expect to have a fancy food here.  I did not see any Sushi restaurant in and near the park.  I do not recall seeing any restaurants.  Maybe, the fancy hotel in the park, the Ahwahnee has a dining service.  I had a breakfast and dinner in the hostel where I stayed.  It was a good home-made country food, such as pancakes, eggs and bacon, and grilled chicken.  I had a small snack for lunch at Glacier Point.  The park is a place for pleasing your eyes not particularly your stomach.  A bag of peanuts that an airline presented helped me to continue exploring this spectacular park. 

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I explored Yosemite by car.  Roads in the park are very scenic, but I recommend parking a car and taking a walk, if possible.  There are so many places to go in Yosemite, but I think that you should at least hit the following two major sites if you do not have enough time:

• Yosemite Valley - Most people think of Yosemite Valley as Yosemite, because of the famous sites seen in the valley including Tunnel View and El Capitan.  The valley also has facilities such as the visitor's center and hotels.  It may be the best place for the first time visitor to explore first in order to get used to this huge park. Yosemite Valley is accessible all year.
• Glacier Point - The road to Glacier Point is open from late Spring to early Fall.  No free shuttle bus to Glacier Point is available even in the summer time.  However, it is worth visiting here to see Yosemite Valley, Half Dorm, and waterfalls.  You may feel as though you were at the top of the world. 

If you have some extra time, hiking is one of the easiest and best ways to experience Yosemite.  A staff at the hostel where I stayed recommended a hike to Taft Point or Sentinel Dome, because I wanted a short easy walk with great scenery.  After considering her explanations of both places, I chose Taft Point.  I was glad that I took a short hike to Taft Point, because it offers a breathtaking overlook to see Yosemite Valley.  However, I got lost on the way back from Taft Point and headed to Sentinel Dome instead of the parking area.  I was alone and a bit scared even in the daytime.  Luckily, I met a group of family who told me the directions that I needed.  Honestly, I had previously met a different family after I realized that something was wrong.  I hesitated to ask them a question.  However, it took me a while to bump into another family.  I learned the lesson:  Do not hesitate to ask for help to a stranger!  Here are useful hiking safety tips on the Yosemite National Park site. 

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Reserve a hotel as soon as possible, because accommodations, both inside and outside the park, fill up early.  Even the campgrounds need reservations.  I stayed one night at the female dorm room of the Yosemite Bug Rustic Mountain Resort.  Yosemite Bug is supposed to be a 30 minute drive from the park entrance.  However, I could not find the resort sign at night.  It took me about one hour to finally get to its front desk.  The dorm room was quite an experience.  The room was hot with no AC, even at night.  Therefore, girls in the room opened both doors and windows to sleep comfortably.  It was too late to rent a lock for the valuable locker from the front desk.  I did not feel safe sleeping there. I was holding my valuables in the bed.  Of course, I could not sleep well and started a day earlier.  As a result, I could use a shower without standing in a line.  That was good, I guess.  Anyway, the dorm room was very cheap.  Overall experience at Yosemite Bug was good.  The staff was friendly and helpful.  The food at the cafe was good.  However, I would like to stay in a private room for the next time.  Oh, one more thing!  You might have to wait for a while to use the PC with Internet access at the cafe.   

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Choices:

You could go to Yosemite using bus and train.  However, that kind of transportation service has a time schedule.  Sometime, the schedule does not work with your schedule.  I flew to San Francisco International Airport, from which no transportation services departed to Yosemite.  So, renting a car at the airport was the best choice for me. 

To the park:

I checked direction to the park before the trip.  Many sites say that it takes about 4 to 5 hours from the San Francisco International Airport by car.  It actually took me 6 hours because I had a lunch on the way to the park.  In addition, the closer the park became, the narrower the road became.  It only had one lane to drive.  There were some road works to slow me down, too.  It will be good to have enough time to visit the park.  A day trip to the park would not be worthwhile unless you live close to the park. 

Within the park:

The park map seemingly shows major sites in a short distance.  However, the park is huge!  It usually takes approximately one hour from one site to another by car.  In addition, there are many one-way roads.  In summer, many people visit the park from all over the world.  So, expect to have a bad traffic at one time in the park.  In fact, I had to sit in traffic more than I expected it due to road works on the Glacier Point road.   

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Many guidebooks and sites have already mentioned what to bring.  In addition, I personally recommend the following items:

• Moisturizer & lip balm - The park is quite dry in summer.  In fact, my nail was broken after the first day.
• Binoculars - I wish I had it.

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