Yosemite

In the past year I have made 4 trips to Yosemite. I have lived in Northern California since 1970 and this is my first exposure to this treasure. The first trip was in September of 2008. From Healdsburg to the Ahwanee Hotel took about 5.5 hours in good traffic. I have used 2 different routes so far. The nicer, more scenic route was through the Delta. We drove over Mark West Springs into Calistoga, down through St. Helena and Yountville, etc. to Jameson Canyon Road over to Hwy. 12, into Lodi, southward on Hwy. 99, to Manteca and east on Hwy. 121, through Big Oak Flat, Groveland and to the park. It took about an hour longer than the other route [101 to 580, through the East Bay on thru Tracy to Manteca and then the same route into the park]. We encountered a snowstorm [about 2 feet total] on the March 22 drive. We left Healdsburg at 9:30 AM and pulled up to the Ahwanee at 5PM. The drive was lovely and we didn’t see any snow until we left Oakdale. Even then it was only visible on the peak tops in the far distance. When we reached Groveland there was evidence of snow on the roadside. By the time we reached the park entrance everything was covered; the roads up to the gate were clear. The young [very young] woman at the gate informed us that the roads were “ok for awhile" but we might need chains when we got to the Valley. We were stopped within 5 minutes. We were threatened with a ticket for not having chains on but we explained our encounter with the “gatekeeper” and he backed off. He was obviously having a very bad day. I got the chains installed [if you are buying chains/cables, be sure to buy the “split” type] and crawled [for 2 hours] into the park. The vistas were like Christmas cards. The snow was only about 48 hours old and absolutely pristine. Even the plowed piles on the roadside were immaculate. All the rivers and creeks were running full force. You could not ask for a more picturesque setting. The hour was late and I had to get back so I crawled back out [only 1.5 hours to the gate] removed my cables and hightailed it back [through the Bay Area] arriving back in Healdsburg at 10PM. On my return on the 28th we drove back through the Delta. Most of the snow in the park had melted and I spent some time taking pictures. Wildflowers were popping up all the way home. Everywhere you looked were blankets of greens; Kelly, Lime and Chartreuse fields washed with the intense orange of poppies, the blue stalks of lupine, magenta redbuds and yellow mustard. I fear that with so little rain the colors will disappear in no time and the hillsides will revert to their June gold well before June arrives.