Category Archives: Outdoors

Yosemite Nature Notes – Big Trees

Yosemite National Park is home to some of the oldest trees in North America, the Giant Sequoia. These trees thrive in the Northern California atmosphere, wrapped in warm temperatures and frequent rainfall. The park is thick with vast forests, and they are one of the many attractions of Yosemite Valley.

Yosemite Nature Notes No. 11 spotlights these massive trees and great forests of Yosemite National park. It’s certainly worth the time to watch.

According to the Yosemite Conservancy, this year’s donors have an opportunity to have an extraordinary impact on these big trees. “Contributions from our donors are helping to fund the project to restore the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. This is an ambitious, multiyear effort to preserve these majestic trees and reverse 150 years of development by balancing visitor needs with ecological protection.”

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Ghost Towns – Yosemite Nature Notes

California’s Gold Rush initially occurred in 1848 and lasted at a fevered pitch until 1855.  Gold and silver were still to be found after that period, and many prospectors tooled the Sierra Nevada looking for the ore that would change their lives.  Tioga Hill became home to these hearty men who lived and moved stone by hand in the 1880s.  Tioga Pass at the crest of the Sierra Nevada range saw men come in droves.  They brought machinery, livestock, and dreams. They built towns like Dana Village, Bennettvile and worked at places like the Golden Crown Mine.

From the video: “today’s popular Tioga Road was once a simple wagon road built to access the wealth of minerals that were never found.”

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