DAY 3
Morning
BREAKFAST: Wawona Hotel.
Right outside the park on Highway 41 is the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad (559-683-7273; www.ymsprr.com), set in a lovely wooded glade. An eighty-four-ton vintage locomotive, the largest ever built for a narrow-gauge track, pulls open cars 4 miles through forestlands into Lewis Creek Canyon. Steam rolls out from under the great engine, black smoke belches up into the sky, and a conductor spins tales of when the railroad hauled millions of board feet of lumber out of the Sierras. From June through September, a "Moonlight Special" evening train excursion ends with a steak barbecue and live music around a campfire. There's a beautiful picnic spot here, and cross-country skiing is excellent throughout the Sugar Pine area.
LUNCH: Narrow Gauge Inn, next to the railroad station; (559) 683-7720. The Victorian era and the Old West are combined in the dining hall and Bull Moose saloon; cozy in cool weather, when logs burn in the big stone fire-places.
Afternoon
Retrace your route back to the Bay Area. THERE'S MORE
Fresno Flats Historical Park, a mile from Oakhurst on Road 427; (559)
683-6570. Re-created Western community from the region's early timber and ranching era. Old buildings have been moved from all over the county, including jails, schools, barns, wagons, buggies, and a furnished home from the nineteenth century.
Sierra Mono Museum, at Malum Ridge Road (Road 274) and Mammoth
Pool Road (Road 225), between North Fork and South Fork; (559)
877—2115. Major exhibition of Native American artifacts and California wildlife displays.
Yosemite High Country Wilderness Tours; (559) 683-4013. Four-wheel-drive treks in the Sierra National Forest, fabulous views, knowledgeable guides, air-conditioned vehicles, snacks and deli lunch.
Nelder Grove. Ten miles north of Oakhurst on Highway 41—take Sky
Ranch Road 6 miles; also accessible by vehicle fromTenaya Lodge via several miles of dirt road. One of the largest trees in the world, the Bull Buck, rests in a wilderness grove of more than a hundred specimen sequoias; a 1-mile, self-guided trail runs through the grove along the banks of Nelder
Creek.
Horseback riding. Yosemite Trails Pack Station, P.O. Box 100, Fish Camp
93623; (800) 635—5807. Guided trips into Mariposa Grove and other parts of the park. Inquire at Marriott's Tenaya Lodge.
Southern Yosemite in winter. Guided snowshoe walks "with a park ranger/naturalist are scheduled at the Mariposa Grove; a developed snow-play area is located at Crane Flat on Route 120, just outside the southern entrance to the park; at the Pioneer History Center, costumed docents talk of early Yosemite winters. There is caroling by candlelight and hot cider and cocoa in the old barn. For snowmobiling, head for Beasore Road near
Pine Village at Bass Lake.
Pets in Yosemite National Park. Pets are allowed on paved areas only. They must be leashed and attended at all times and are not allowed on trails, in the backcountry, in lodgings, or in public places. Kennels are available:
(559) 372-1248.
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