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 A Last Summer Weekend in the High Country?
We have a great weekend coming up August 28, 29 & 30 th. One of Yosemite's all-time top naturalists, Michael Ross, will be leading three fantastic Outdoor Adventures in the Tuolumne Meadows area. On Friday the Aug. 28, Ross will lead a 4-5 mile geology exploration at 10,000’. You will discover the ancient past of the Yosemite region, including the fascinating and beautiful features left by the glaciers that once blanketed the landscape. The second day, Saturday Aug. 29, Ross will take you birding in Tuolumne Meadows. This hike will be 3-5 miles at 8600’. This is an exciting time of year to bird in the Sierra with opportunities to see migrating raptors and upslope migrant songbirds. Then on Sunday the Aug. 30, enjoy a Tuolumne Area Botany class. Hike 3-4 miles again at 8600’. This hike will allow you to enjoy the last of the summer’s wildflowers (and there are plenty). You will learn how to observe and identify plant community relationships and explore meadow and forest ecology. You can take one, two or all three one-day courses. Each program is $82 for non-members or $70 for members of YA. Call or register on-line soon as the classes will fill up; free camping and free park entry are included for each course. Enjoy the last weekend of August with Yosemite Association (-and look ahead to Labor Day weekend, when author Suzanne Swedo also leads three one-day YA courses...) Find out more by going to our website.
Join Us in Wawona!
The picturesque Pioneer Yosemite History Center and the bucolic grounds of the Wawona Hotel will be the setting for our 34th Annual Fall Gathering on Saturday, October 3, 2009. Exclusively for Association members, this event includes morning interpretive walks, lunch, interesting speakers, a fundraising raffle and auction, book signings, a wine and cheese reception, and an authentic evening barn dance.
This year’s speakers will include world-renowned photographers Karl Kroeber and Mike Osborne, photographers of First Light.
Want to participate, but you are not yet a member? Yosemite Association members at the Half Dome level and above will be invited to join us at a special Friday night reception with an opportunity to meet special speakers, followed by a showing of the final installment of Ken Burn’s America’s Best Idea with fellow Yosemite enthusiasts. To renew or upgrade your membership, please click here
 Feeling Lucky?
Send in your Bracebridge order form located in your copy of the most recent journal. This is a very special opportunity to win two raffle to tickets to the famed Bracebridge Dinner at the Ahwahnee courtesy of DNC Parks & Resorts. Each ticket is $10 and the lucky winner will receive two tickets to the Christmas pageant on December 14th complete with Middle Age music and Renaissance ritual, fantastic Ahwahnee feast, and one night's stay at the Yosemite Lodge at Yosemite.
The Bracebridge raffle is open to the public and all proceeds go towards protecting and providing services for Yosemite National Park. To order your tickets use the green order form in your issue of the Yosemite journal, call our office at 209 379-2317 or send a check with a note indicating you would like to purchase Bracebridge raffle tickets to P.O. Box 230 El Portal, CA 95318. The winning ticket will be drawn at our annual Fall Gathering in Wawona October 3rd. Need not be present to win!
Yosemite Association is on Facebook!
Find out about upcoming events, see and post photos, participate in discussions about your experiences in the park, and learn how you deepen your connection with and support of Yosemite. Just type “Yosemite Association” in the Facebook search bar.
Incase You Missed It!
The New York Times recently published an insightful op-ed by prominent writer, Nicholas D. Kristof entitled “How to Lick a Slug.” In reflecting on a backpacking trip along the Pacific Crest Trail he offers the following: One problem may be that the American environmental movement has focused so much on preserving nature that it has neglected to do enough to preserve a constituency for nature. It’s important not only to save forests, but also to promote camping, hiking, bouldering and white-water rafting so that people care about saving those forests.
Parsons Memorial Lodge Summer Series Final Weekends
Only two weekends left for the the Parsons Lodge Memorial Summer Series, come and experience Yosemite through the eyes of authors, poets, storytellers and artists.
All programs begin at 2:00 pm. The programs are offered through support from the Yosemite Association in cooperation with the National Park Service, Loralee Tucker Hiramoto Memorial Fund, Friends of Parsons Lodge, and Poets & Writers, Inc. Admission is free to all events.
Also don’t miss the August 29th featured program entitled First Light: Five Photographers Explore Yosemite’s Backcountry. Immediately following the presentation, the Yosemite Association will also be hosting a wine and appetizers reception to celebrate the release of our new publication First Light: Five Photographers Explore Yosemite’s Backcountry. Meet with the photographer and find out what inspired the photographs in this stunning new book and have your copy signed.
To view a complete schedule of the Parsons Memorial Lodge Summer Series click here.
Yosemite Association and Yosemite Fund volunteer at fee-free weekend
Volunteers of the Yosemite Association and Yosemite Fund teamed up to greet visitors and collect park-supporting donations at all Yosemite entrances during the August 15-16 free entrance weekend. The reception from visitors was once again overwhelmingly supportive and generous. Thank to the following volunteers who helped make it a very successful endeavor: Josh Cameron, Derrick Vocelka, Gordon and Gladys Callander, Verle Waters, Richard Fuller, Sue Wyman, Pete Van Kuran, Rita and Jack McCann, Leslie Downing, Dwight Minami, Katherine Shargo, Janice Becker, Jan and Blair Phillips, Mahalia Ryba, Pat Mason, Barbara Jamison, Thomas Beck, Rose Kerbein, Uriel Escorcia, Sally Greninger, Dave Hartsveldt, Bradley Cleveland. Yosemite Association staff Noel Morrison and John Friedrich teamed up with Yosemite Fund staff Jerry Edelbrock, Thomas Beck and Rose Kerbein to prepare for and participate in the effort. If you are interested in volunteering in Yosemite National Park, please contact YA Volunteer Coordinator Suzy Hasty, shasty@yosemite.org.
Special Event in Fresno on September 9
Join Yosemite Association and Yosemite Fresno Neighbors for a special event at the K-Jewel/Kyno Art Gallery (1415 Fulton Ave.) in Fresno, CA on Wednesday, September 9, 5:30 – 8 p.m. Admission is Free. The event will include a preview of the new Ken Burns film on National Parks, and a presentation by Yosemite Ranger Shelton Johnson, who stars in the Burns film. Shelton was featured on ABC World News Tonight on Sunday, August 15, as well as in a front-page San Francisco Chronicle Article on September 9.
The event will also feature and Ansel Adams exhibit, a wine reception by Fresno State, and live music by flutist Lance Canales. Raffle prizes include a 2 night stay in Yosemite and an Ansel Adams print. Please RSVP to Nene Cesares at the Rios Company, 559-485-1320.
Fall Gathering Raffle & Auction Drive
We are seeking donations for the Fall Gathering raffle and auction. The Association issues a tax acknowledgement for all items received. If you’d like to contribute an item, service or experience, please email Association Membership and Development Director John Friedrich, jfriedrich@yosemite.org.
Please Support Our Work
For more than 85 years, the National Park Service and the member-powered Yosemite Association have partnered to help support and protect Yosemite National Park. With Ken Burns’ much anticipated film, “Americas Best Idea,” set to air this September, there has never been a more exciting or important time to support and stay connected to our treasured Yosemite. Whether you become a new member, renew your membership, or make a donation, every dollar you spend will be put to good use supporting educational, environmental, research, arts and volunteer programs in Yosemite National Park.
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