Come with me into another enchanting National Park. This is my first attempt to work a
short gig job in late Fall and early Winter. I always seem to push the bar a bit
higher to "test my grit"! I drove to Yosemite National Park on November 30, 2023. I
arrived as expected at Orientation at 9 AM with my car fully loaded, not yet assigned to
housing. I also arrived with the required onboarding incomplete. As much as I had tried,
I was unsuccessful to complete the documentation online. Having been involved with
this type of work, I know its challenging to keep places staffed. I felt pretty confident I
would not be sent home!
Fall leaves adorn my arriving path into the park.After lunch, I returned to orientation for food handling training. By now, my anxiety
began to ramp upregarding my lack of housing and realizing the sun would set about
4:30. Finally, about 3PM I was taken to the Housing Office and assigned a room in a dorm
building.
My first look at Yosemite Falls from employee parking area.
As happy as I am to be in the cozy building vs a canvas tent equipped with a heater, I am a bit challenged with the bathroom situation. I'm assigned to the first floor and
have access to a full kitchen just steps away. The Men's room is adjacent to the kitchen. The Women's room is above the Men's room on the second floor. Furthermore, stairs leading to it are outside. Now, to be fair, the stair has an awning over them, but as Winter moves in, access will be more challenging for these old bones!
With no Employee Dining, we are left to our own in the tiny kitchen, normally packed. I took this photo at 2 AM!
The Women's Shower area. There are two shower stalls reflected in the mirror.
Two washers and two dryers are free.
The day after Orientation I drove to my job site to meet my boss and workmates. It's
about a 30 minute drive from Yosemite Village to El Portal Market, about 2 miles West of
the West entrance. By the way, El Portal is Spanish for "The Gateway". Dropping nearly
2000 feet during drive provides for a lovely drive along the Merced River. My boss told
me to enjoy the rest of the day as well the next two days! I did just that, acclimating to my
surroundings.
I always try to seek out a National Park Cemetery. They have some pioneering families
and interesting stories. Can you imagine your final resting spot to be a place within
Yosemite Falls? If you zoom in, you will see the falls.
The Uniform Office is tucked away in back of a warehouse and down stairs. Finding places in the park
is quite a challenge!
A favorite pullout in the park, looking back up to the Meadow and The Village.
The General Store in El Portal.
My boss has been collecting foreign currency from travelers for a while.
These falls are visible from the store during the rainy season.
There isn't much to the river in December. However, it's easy to imagine Spring runoff.
On my first day of work, I was happy I started during a slow time of year. Now that I've
completed day 3, I can sense the routine being established and the operational system
becoming easier. It's been a long time since I've done cashier work. It's fun to visit with
the guests, many of them live in El Portal, population is just under 500. I must say that I
have never seen one leave with a box of $11.49 Corn Flakes! There will always be
markups to items in a remote store, but most items are a reasonable amount. Cold cereal
though has me baffled.
DECEMBER 10, 2023
After my first week on the job, I can say I thoroughly enjoy visiting with the guests. Even
though El Portal sits outside park boundaries, most of the town is dedicated and
managed by NPS. Historically, ranchers , miners and indigenous peoples played a large
part of the growth and use. Right now the Merced River is calm, but using my
imagination and markings on cliff walls as well as left behind debris. I can see it
becomes a very active body in Spring as it brings melted Winter snow down canyons.
I poked around this little town of El Portal on a day off and was happy to see a display of a person
powered turntable, Yosemite Valley Railroad caboose and Hetch Hetchy Railroad #6
engine. The railroad was active from 1907 to 1945.
At the recommendation of my cousin, Mike I toured the California State Mining and
Mineral Museum in nearby Mariposa. Since Mike and I share one of our Great
Grandfathers who was a distinguished Mining Engineer and mine owner during the Gold
Rush Days, I wanted to see this museum. It is a well done, interactive museum that
displays the Fricot "Nugget". I don't know how my readers envision a nugget, but this
thing weighs 138 pounds! I was impressed with the "Bird's Eye View", looking down at
depths of some mines. I also learned why Amethysts are so highly valued. The Greeks
and Roman's believed Amethyst had the ability to prevent drunkenness! There are so
many beautiful pieces on display from places all over the world. Catch it if you are in the
area!
Now that I've traveled in and out of Yosemite Valley about eight times, I felt pretty
confident to head out on a walking tour today. Believe me, NPS has done an amazing job
to keep traffic flow running pretty smoothly. However, the first couple of times I drove
the area, I felt I was going in circles. With more confidence I wandered afoot in the valley, taking in
Yosemite Falls (where I learned about moonbows), Camp 4 (climbers tent camp area), snacking near
The Swinging Bridge picnic area, then meandering by the Yosemite Chapel before catching a bus back
to Yosemite Village where my dorm is located. I'm also involved with a challenge to walk 100 miles in
December and falling WAY behind! Today's 5 miles felt good.
DECEMBER 20, 2023
The learning curve is diminishing at work and I'm enjoying visiting with patrons.
Nevertheless, everyday I do learn something new. I've closed the store at 7PM once and
hope not to do it again, but I'm sure I will. With sunset at 4:30, the 1/2 hour drive back to
lodging is not fun. I miss the exceptional views and parking is a gamble.
There is not much offered for employee parking. It amazes me that so many park and concessionaire
employees do not have a car. They arrive by train and the company fetches them at arrival. In this case,
that's about 2 hours away. Aramark, the concessionaire arranges for shopping trips to Merced or Fresno
so their needs are met and employees get time away.
On my weekends I would find short hikes for a different vantage point. This is near the Swinging Bridge, looking back toward the Village area.
Curry Village, where the temperatures are about 10 to 15 degrees cooler as the area is surrounding by
granite cliffs. If you book a GLAMPING VACATION, these tents are where you will stay.
A nice ice rink has been established for folks who want to skate under Half Dome!
This was taken at the Bridal Veil pull out, looking across at El Capitan. The contrast of light and dark
struck me. Turn around in place and this is what I saw:
These photos were taken on a short hike to Mirror Lake. The lake itself was virtually non existent as a
Marshy area. However, I was able to walk to a nearby stream to capture the reflection of Half Dome. I
stopped at the ice covered area for a short picnic.
Last weekend I met up with Elin, a Glacier friend who resides in Michigan. Newly retired
from many years as an Occupational Therapist, Elin has taken on a short term job as a
Traveling OT. Her assignment has her working 13 weeks in the Bay area. She drove East
and I drove West an equal amount of time to investigate the Twaine Harte, CA area.
We stayed with friends of Elin's who provided yummy meals and a very nice room. Lisa and
Chris live on Kinland Forest property which was purchased by Lisa's grandfather. He had a beautiful
vision of how to steward the land. It is truly a magical hide away. Elin and I walked the area, taking in
the mastication of underbrush for fire protection, exploring care taker cabins and other out buildings
near a stream. We did a bit of shopping and enjoyed lunch in Twaine Harte. I can only imagine how
beautiful the place is in Spring and Summer. Elin and I said our goodbyes on Sunday morning and I
poked around Groveland on my return to Yosemite.
The next weekend off would be in the company of my sister, Mimi and her friend, Shannon. We met up
with my cousin, Mike and wife Rene at Angel's Camp. He treated us to a tour of nearby Ironstone
Vineyards where we enjoyed lunch.
Nothing beats the photo opportunity at Tunnel View!
Merry Christmas from the Ahwahnee Hotel!
This stunning view is along the John Muir trail to Nevada Falls. The incline is never ending and more noticeable coming down!
Aramark staff provides occasional events for employees. Even Park Rangers got involved with the
Cookie Decorating Event.
My final weekend before leaving was spent in the Wawona area. I was met with driving snow, sleet and
fog as I traveled over the pass. I hustled to take the short hike into the Mariposa Grove of Giant
Sequoias as the weather was pretty "iffy".
With the road closed to the GIANTS, the only way to see them was a short hike.
Ice crystals along the trail to the GIANTS.
Wawona Hotel front shown above and area behind the hotel below.
This is the Happy Isle area. Back in the late 90's there was an enormous rock fall. Two huge boulders,
the size of a football field landed a few feet away of the structures. If you zoom in, you can see the
large pile left behind.
More information here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Yosemite_Valley_landslide
Three Brothers on a chilly day.
The TeePee stands just outside the Museum in the Valley. Can you imagine surviving winter in one?
There is no doubt the Yosemite is beautiful during any season!
sustain a winter in the park and gave a two week notice. I have soaked it up and start packing my car as
the weather permits. Lucky for me, I found a climbing guide willing to take my mini fridge up the icy
stairs at the dorm to a prime parking spot where "Ralph" waited!
And, so it is........
I made my way West, leaving Yosemite behind me.
Scenes from my final trip to work on my last day
are below. After my shift, I just kept driving West!
After a night in Merced, I drove to where my friend, Elin is staying in Walnut Creek for a temp job.
V
Lovely garden view as I lay on the bed. We enjoyed a lovely French meal at La Sen.
The next day we drove to San Francisco (the city of my birth ) and met up with Chris and Lisa again.
What a fantastic but short reunion! After a short cable car ride we took in an Irish Coffee at Buena
Vista Cafe, then we ate well at Sodinis and partied after dinner at The Saloon, listening to great blues
bands!
next day. I had a fast sleep in San Francisco, took an Uber back to retrieve my Jeep and off I went for
the next party in Oceanside, CA!
Just a few days later, my granddaughter would have her 11th birthday and, of course I stayed for one
more rowdy party!
The entire California coast was expecting a huge storm so off I went the day after Gabriella's party. I
am now home, recovering from the excitement! To all my friends and family, I give thanks for your
support and patience with me! I owe so many calls and letters for the missed connections during the
holidays. I hope 2024 is kind to all of my readers and there might be an adventure in store for each
one!
