The Road to Yosemite by Barbara Steinberg

We flee our urban environs by way of traffic-laden Hwy. 99. Sightings of an occasional raptor or egret remind us this was once a wilder realm. We are grateful when just beyond Merced, now on Hwy. 140, the landscape is suddenly pastoral. No track homes or strip malls. Just wide-open spaces, lush and green, neatly hemmed by nearly invisible barbwire fences. The carefully rowed orchards, and cattle lazily munching tender green shoots, comfort this weary traveler's gaze. Slow rolling hills, stretching far afield, show the way to a horizon of snowcapped peaks and the promise of Yosemite!

KG's Foothill Coffee Shop & Roadside Restaurant, closed and boarded, is an indication of more lucrative times along this scenic route. Just beyond you feel and see the road begin to climb into the approaching foothills. The arms of craggy oaks, along the velvet way, seem a welcoming embrace along the road. The way is quiet except for a small laughing stream bubbling past.

Valley oaks are suddenly joined by Ponderosa pines and manzanita. We travel a short distance on well-worn Hwy. 49, but then decide on Chowchilla Mountain Road and a potential shortcut to Fish Camp. I'm curious about the Ponderosa Basin Chapel and mentally note that next time there's the Happy Burger. But we are anxious to reach our final destination, Tenaya Lodge. It was such a promising start, but, alas, the road less traveled is impassable at higher elevations in the winter. Dammed map! Leading us astray! Our want for adventure has cost us 30 minutes, but it's not a complete loss. We hope to try again when spring returns to the Sierra.

Back on Hwy. 49 I've hardly blinked before passing through Nipinnawasee. A mere speck along the way by comparison to it's bustling neighbor, Ahwahnee, with its Chevron and Bill's 19th Hole Hitching Post Sports Bar. We hasten on through Oakhurst because Tenaya Lodge beckons: a sumptuous dinner, an Irish coffee and friendly faces around a warm fire.