Nathalie and I just finished a three day visit to Yosemite National Park in California. We had been planning on going out to California for quite some time and this park has been on my to-do list for quite a while. Seeing as we have some free time this year, we took the opportunity to go out and visit. To say that the park didn't disappoint would be a major understatement! While we were there for only three days, we could've easily spent a week. It was that good. Instead of going through my usual travel recaps, I'd like to advocate why you should make it a point to go to at least one national park in your travels.
 |
| Yosemite Falls in the foreground with Half Dome in the background, Yosemite National Park |
Unspoiled Nature, Up-Close and Personal
National Parks (and to the same extent state and local parks) are our efforts, as humans, to preserve nature and to attempt to share the planet with the other species who were here before us. These collective efforts have allowed us a unique opportunity to explore the finer aspects of nature at our tempo and without the distraction of modernity preventing us from doing so. During my time in Southeast Asia earlier this year, I developed a much greater appreciation for nature and being outdoors. Going to Yosemite gave me an opportunity to enjoy one of the best national parks in America (and quite possibly the world).
Throughout our time in the park, we were constantly distracted (in a good way) by the world around us. Often times, we would just stop in the middle of a trail, isolated to just the two of us, watch and listen. From the wind rustling through the trees, to the squirrels, deer and birds going about their daily routine to even the clouds moving though the sky, we were constantly treated to nature at her rawest.
A Chance To See Where We All Fit In
The world is getting smaller. We are currently in an unprecedented period of population growth, having recently passed the seven billion people mark and gained over 4.5 billion since the end of the second world war. While this phenomenal increase has its roots in an equally unprecedented period of general world peace and advances in health care, the crowding of the planet has also put a strain on our natural resources. This has meant that the untouched wonders of our planet are becoming increasingly rare as we ask more from the earth to sustain us. However, that doesn't mean that untouched tracts of nature don't exist.
Through the actions of our collective consciousness, governments throughout the world have designated areas as protected from development, in essence creating parks and reserves. As many of these are open to the public, it gives us the chance to visit them and to see and experience some of the most breathtaking terrain the world has to offer. Leaving nature untouched, it's very easy to connect how we as humans fit in here. We might be the alphas of Earth, but we are very much guests with limited time. Being able to witness mountain ranges that dwarf the dawn of man by tens of millions of years and forests that were old even before the first human penetrated them is humbling to say the least. There are few things in life more precious than being able to see the planet as it was before we got here and what it will be like long after we're gone.
 |
| Tall trees in Yosemite National Park |
Great Exercise
As you can't have a national park without a 'park,' it's only fitting that visiting one entails being outside. In many parks, it's possible to visit the main attractions by car or bus (Yosemite has an excellent shuttle service running along the floor of the valley). The problem with this, though, is that you're not really getting the full experience the park has to offer. Getting out on the various trails changes all of that.
Yosemite has 16 trails in the valley alone, all with various levels of difficulty and ranging from short, 1-hour loops to all-day 14 mile/22 km treks. With all of that hiking, you're also getting some fantastic exercise! Nathalie and I wound up hiking an average of five hours per day throughout our three days in the park. According to my pedometer, we trekked over 26 miles/42 km and burned over 9,000 calories (the pedometer didn't take into account the weight of our backpacks nor the changes in terrain, so this number is probably on the low end). All of this took place while we were taking in the incredible beauty of the world around us. I could think of less enjoyable ways to lose weight and get exercise.
Witness Your Taxes At Work (And Why Funding Parks Is a Win-Win)
National parks, at least in the United States, are primarily funded through Federal funding. They are part of the Department of the Interior and as such, are paid for by the taxes of those living and working in the United States. While there are easier ways to see how your taxes are put to work, few are on such stunning display as at national parks. I was blown away with how well Yosemite is organized and run. The park's infrastructure is well thought out and well maintained. As I mentioned earlier, there is a shuttle bus running throughout the valley floor. This bus meanders throughout the central portion of the park stopping at the trail-heads and bringing guests back to the 'village' in the center of the park. The bus ran every ten minutes with drivers giving trekking advice to passengers in between stops. Considering all of this was included in the price of admission, I couldn't find any downsides to this service.
Speaking of which, we rented a car to get to and from the park. The cost of admission for the park: 30 USD per car, for one week. That's right; for a little over four bucks a day, you and as many people as you can fit in the car can come and go as you please. This price, while low, keeps the park accessible to everyone. The price of admission was discounted for members of the military and senior citizens and unlike other countries (looking at you, Thailand) foreigners pay the same price citizens. While there are heated debates in the United States over how our taxes are used, it's hard to argue that preserving our parks and making them accessible to all is undeserving of our national endowment.
 |
| This railing didn't pay for and build itself; overlooking the top of Nevada Falls, Yosemite National Park |
Getting There is Half the Fun
Getting to and from the park is almost as fun as being in it. We were unable to stay inside the park due to budget constraints (Yosemite has a wide selection of on-site hotels and lodging facilities but as we didn't book in advance, it was more affordable for us to stay offsite. We also didn't have any camping gear so we were unable to take advantage of the multiple camping sites). This meant that we had to commute in and out each day. While this could've been monotonous, we were instead treated to twisting, winding roads that were an absolute blast to drive on. Far from the boring fare of interstate driving, we spent the entire hour and a half on country roads surrounded by both dense forest and stunning vistas.
The town we stayed in, Oakhurst, primarily depends on tourists for its economic prosperity. We took advantage of the friendly and knowledgeable hotel staff to find out the best places to eat. Five minutes of food talk with hotel reception (and come on, who doesn't like talking about food?) rewarded us with two great treats: a local BBQ joint with excellent pulled pork and a visit to the town's microbrewery where we not only got to try a couple of local beers but also got to eat a delicious, hand-made dinner as well (Nathalie had an BLT, I had a turkey sandwich made with all locally sourced food). If we hadn't had bothered to ask, we would've wound up eating bland fast food and would've felt bad about it.
While this was our experience outside Yosemite, practically every other national park is going to have the same sort of setup with a small, tourist town being propped up by the economic windfall of the bigger park next to it. If being the park was the bulk of our experience, the commute and the interaction in the town were staying in certainly rounded it off.
 |
| On the road out of Yosemite |
It's Pleasantly Addictive
Nathalie and I had originally planned to do two days in the park. We had a buffer and were probably going to explore elsewhere around the region, but after our first hour inside Yosemite, we decided to extend our stay by another day. By the end of our first hike, we had pulled out the map and began eagerly planning our next treks up the hillside. It almost felt like the first day on a snowboarding vacation, where you get that taste in your mouth and before you know it, you're up early each day trying to hit as many slopes as possible while you explore the mountain.By the time we reached the end of our last day, we already started planning our return back to the park. We were hooked. It's going to be a while before we make it back to Yosemite, but we're already planning to head out to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in east Tennessee once we get back to Nashville.
Voila! Here's case for why you should definitely visit at least one national park. Does this sound right to you or do you have something you'd like to add or comment on? Feel free to do so down below in the comments!
No comments:
Post a Comment