A short flight to San Francisco, then a drive of about four hours brought us to the Big Oat Flats entrance to Yosemite (1). The Tuolumne (too-ah-lum-nee) Grove of Giant Sequoia trees lies about five miles from the entrance. A mile walk with 400 foot elevation loss ends at the ""Big Red" Sequoia, where a small trails leads to five more of the trees, including a dead tree in which a tunnel had been hewn into the tree base to amuse tourists travelling by stage coach through the area back in the day.
Ascending back to the car, the drive to Yosemite Valley revealed the flat valley of the Merced river, surrounded by towering rock formations. The housekeeping camp toward the eastern end of the valley was out home for the next two nights.
(1) The ranger at the entrance station actually thanked us for having all of our documents ready. It did not seem that hard (My wife's park pass, ID, and reservation for a camp in the park (a)). The entrance can get backed up if people entering are not prepared, with long waits from late June to mid-August (b).
(a) A reservation to use the popular Tioga Pass road is necessary if not staying in the park.
(b) School had already opened in California, reducing the visitor load in the park (and why we went in late August).
California Sister butterfly
About a mile walk downhill from the parking lot
"Big Red" Sequoia
Tunnel tree carve-out for stagecoach turnpike attraction
Fallen tree. See person in foreground for scale
Rings on fallen tree
One more sequoia in the grove
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