Quotey_p_wHowever - those things don't require a "National Park" designation per se. Locally, I go to Muir Woods NM, which has a decent interpretive system, although no visitor center per se other than the bookstore manned by volunteers. Didn't Dinosaur NM have a pretty decent visitor center - at least until it was temporarily closed for structural reasons? Even so, with the federaby Dave - General Discussion
Quotey_p_wI looked it up. Sleeping Bear Dunes was never a "National Park". It was established in 1970 as "Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore". I know there were some units that were delisted as "National Parks", with some being really sketchy. Some stayed in the NPS with a different designation, so went to other agencies, and a few even went back to private oby Dave - General Discussion
Quotey_p_w I personally don't agree with Pinnacles being declared a "National Park". It's wonderful in its own way, but I don't see that it has the requirements/significance for getting the designation. Well, if Sleeping Bear Dunes can get National Park status, why not the Pinnacles? The Pinnacles has a far more interesting geologic history than some sand dunes on the shore of a big laby Dave - General Discussion
QuoteeeekQuoteDaveI heard a Fresno TV news program said it was this weekend that is free. That's going to cause a problem.So much for fact checking. This is the 21st Century. You have to lower your standards on fact checking.by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
That will be great! But only if they do NOT connect hwy 146 though the park.by Dave - General Discussion
I heard a Fresno TV news program said it was this weekend that is free. That's going to cause a problem.by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Just to the left of the Tioga entrance station office, between the office and the bathrooms, is a little plant that Parker says is whorled penstemon. The pictures I could find don't match what I see on the ground. Anyone have any idea what that little plant is?by Dave - General Discussion
And the GPS people do not care. I've sent several emails to google maps, and yahoo maps, offering to correct their maps on Yosemite and the surrounding area or give them the correct information and let them fix it. I have gotten no response at all.by Dave - General Discussion
Quotetomdisco QuoteDaveActually, it's a Neartralia. That's latin for mountain dandelion. Geez! No, that's an Intralia. Those can often be seen growing just below an Onrockia.by Dave - General Discussion
Just a quick comment..... anything made in the tens of millions will never be "collectible." One hundred years from now this quarter will still be worth a quarter. Anyway, I'm going to be there and I'm getting two rolls and will try to get some signatures if anyone there is important. What will be worth some money in the future is the silver proof set available at the mint: http:by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteeeekQuoteDaveThis was entirely preventable. The whole group should have been hiking at the pace of the slowest hiker. This is a perfect example of why that should be. Do Boy Scout leaders get any wilderness training at all? No. The ones in my old troop were all jerks that knew nothing.by Dave - General Discussion
This was entirely preventable. The whole group should have been hiking at the pace of the slowest hiker. This is a perfect example of why that should be.by Dave - General Discussion
Friends and I took 3 llamas for a hike in Golden Gate Park. We've also hiked in the Presidio and took 4 llamas on the ferry to Angel Island for a 2 night stay.by Dave - General Discussion
Hmmmm.... I'm pretty sure clarkia have only 4 petals and 4 sepals. That one has 5.by Dave - General Discussion
It's a clarkia of some kind.by Dave - General Discussion
The tree did it. She got tired of all those shoes making it look ugly.by Dave - General Discussion
Is that old saying true for climbers too? There are old pilots and bold pilots, but no old bold pilots.by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Also, what do you measure from? If you measure all the way to the bottom of the mountain, then the tallest is the Island of Hawaii. If you measure from the center of the Earth, the tallest is Mt Kilimanjaro. And, you know. the tallest mountain is actually on Mars; Olympus Mons at over 88,000 feet.by Dave - General Discussion
Just FYI, the gas in El Portal this morning was $4.06 for regular.by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Everyone complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. Mark Twain.by Dave - General Discussion
QuoteKenS Jeffrey Shooting Star (Dodecatheon jeffreyi)? From the Laws Field Guide of the Sierra Nevada, "very common in wet areas 2K to 10K". Sounds good to me. You win a free pass to the Upper Yosemite Falls Trail.by Dave - General Discussion
Quoteeeek Perhaps Dodecatheon alpinum?the color is all wrong. The ones in the picture are too light. The alpinum is much darker. Maybe the flower forgot to go by the book.by Dave - General Discussion
Quoteeeek Quoteszalkowski35 for Dolphins. 45 for llamas. Mach 2 for Chick-ons? What you can't see is that a llama is flying that thing. He put the chicken out there so it would cook on re-entry.by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I'd say a padre's shooting star. Dodecatheon clevelandii, but they're usually at 2500 feet or lower. Hmmm...... see: http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=2753 Oh, by the way..... long ago a botanist told me the shooting stars pointing upwards have been fertilized. The ones pointing down have not.by Dave - General Discussion
Quoteeeek QuoteDaveAlso, mapquest/google maps, does not take into account the speed limit in the park is 45mph Acutally it's 35 on Wawona Road. Oops, you're right.by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuotePineCone Sorry, I missed that post above, I thought only driving it with detours/delays in the summer was being discussed. I'm a creature of habit, and have always taken 41 in all the way from Oakhurst. You've given me something to think about. For what it's worth, per Mapquest: Oakhurst to Yosemite Village via 41: 47.37 miles, 1 hour 26 minutes. Oakhurst to Yosemite Village via 49 toby Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotehotrod4x590 minutes from Oakhust to the valley sounds about right to me. Add to that at least a half hour of road construction delays and another half hour for slow RVs that refuse to pull over. Also, mapquest/google maps, does not take into account the speed limit in the park is 45mph and on 49 it's 55. I wanted to rephrase my last sentence in a much nicer manner: I drive the roads iby Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteAlmostThereThere is also the option for the 41 route to turn left onto 49 and head out through Mariposa to end up on 140 heading into the park. In fact, this is how my hiking group gets around the delays on 41 inside the park currently, when we head up to dayhike. 99 to 41 to 49 is fairly straightforward and fast - 41 is a freeway through Fresno and becomes two lane north of town, but remainby Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotehotrod4x5DO NOT go through Merced! Follow my directions posted above. Merced takes way too long as you go through city streets and traffic. I go through Merced all the time. It's no problem. The back roads would take longer.by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion