Yosemite on my mind.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” – Helen Keller

Spending the night in a tent cabin at Yosemite isn't the most daring adventure in the world but it's a lot of fun.  This fox needs hot chocolate, luckily there was plenty of dining options at the park. 

I read that they have a famous hotel here at Yosemite, called the Awanhee Hotel and it's pretty darn nice (and expensive).  However, it fits into my mission of seeing the great hotels.
I took a tour to learn more.

I can't believe I have the mural room all to myself. Where's room service? I could use a cup of hot chocolate. 

I am a sucker for a good mural and a forest scene to boot.  Right up my alley.

After the mural room I headed upstairs to wander around. 

The main hall was used as a hospital after WWII for recovering soldiers.  A the height of the recovery there were 900 hospital beds.  Of course, back in the day smoking was allowed in hospitals and with 900 soldiers recovering from service there was a lot of smoking going on and that being said some of the decor was damaged.  

Here is the great hall today.  Notice the rug on the wall?

The Awanhee Hotel has one of the largest Turkish rug collection in the world.  The builder of the hotel noticed the rugs being used a packing material for crates on San Francisco harbor.  There were lots and lots of rugs and they were cheap (my kind of guy) and so they bought them, used them in the Awanhee Hotel and the rest is history.

This room looks comfy.

A great hotel but it's time to explore the valley. 

Is that Half Dome or El Capitan?

Yosemite Falls is in full motion.  This year there was record rainfall in California so the falls are flowing strong. 

I decided to take a day trip to Glacier Point.  Nice view but the wildfires are restricting my view. Phooey.  

After a few minutes and a few miles on the trail the view opened up.  

After a few more miles on the trail I ended up at the base of Vernall Falls.  

All of these falls flow into the Merced River.  Interesting fact: Merced was a close contender for naming the dog, Sequoia.

Time to leave the valley. 

Waiting for the bus

The bus took me to Mariposa, California and dropped me off in front of a brewery.  My kind of bus line.