| Make a Difference at Yosemite - Join a YA Service
Trip |
 |
 Did you know that during 2003 Yosemite Association
volunteers contributed more than 12,000 hours of time
at Yosemite? These hard-working and selfless individuals are
truly making a difference here at the park.
You, too, can become involved at Yosemite, even if you
don't have time to make a summer commitment to our volunteer
program. Consider becoming part of our Wetlands Restoration
Service Trip offered through our Yosemite Outdoor
Adventures program from September 21 to 24 in Yosemite Valley
later this year.
You'll learn about the National Park Service's efforts to
restore fragile wetland environments, while actually helping
with the work. You'll gain hands-on experience using a variety
of methods, and get exposure to the principles behind the
practice at the same time.
Long-time course instructor Michael Ross will coordinate
the service trip, working closely with representatives of the
National Park Service. Participants will camp in Yosemite
Valley, which is the site of the work projects.
Cost for the educational service trip is $255; with their
15% discount, YA members pay just $216.75. Sign up now
to make a difference in Yosemite! (Photo by Jerry
Nuding)
To
participate in the Yosemite service trip... »
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| Farley's Yosemite Bears Are
Back |
|
 Everybody's favorite bears - Bruinhilda, Alphonse,
Franklin, and Floyd - are back in Yosemite Valley courtesy
of San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist Phil Frank. Every
season his urbanized squad of ursine mischief makers returns
to the park to entertain anybody who reads Phil's
Farley strip.
This summer they've already managed to draw the attention
of park rangers, having commandeered an SUV to make the trip
up from San Francisco. Now they've got wind of an actual plan
by National Geographic researchers to outfit a Yosemite bear
with a miniature video camera. The possibilities for
deviousness are unlimited!
Notorious "clean-camping" Velma Melmac (from Manteca)
arrived back in Yosemite Valley about the same time as the
bears. She's upset about the smoke from recent fires in the
park, and doing her best to vacuum up the resulting ash and
cinders (some of which fouled her evening martini).
You can follow all the escapades of Phil Frank's off-the-
wall characters in the "Newsroom" section of the Yosemite
Association web site. We extend thanks to Phil and the
Chronicle for giving us permission to post these lively
strips.
For
the 2004 "Farley" comic strips... »
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| Yosemite's First Guidebook Available
Again |
|
 The most famous and rare book published about Yosemite
is undoubtedly an oversized, fully-illustrated 19th-century
work entitled The Yosemite Book. Written by Josiah D.
Whitney of the California Geological Survey, the volume was as
much a work of photographic art as it was a guidebook.
Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees were
set aside by the federal government as the Yosemite Grant in
1864. To ensure the proper reception and management of the
federal grant, Whitney produced the Yosemite Book in 1868,
illustrated with original albumen prints by Carleton
Watkins, whose images of the region were key to it's
federal protection. Watkins' superlative images captured the
majestic beauty of the Yosemite Valley, becoming the
inspiration for generations of environmental photographers.
The guide, long out of print and whose limited remaining
copies are ferociously expensive, is available again because
the Bancroft Library at the University of California,
Berkeley, has reproduced the original book, including the
Watkins photographs, as a CD- ROM. This Octavo Edition
features detailed images of the book, a searchable
transcription, and supplementary maps and photographs. A
commentary by Yosemite park historian Jim Snyder is included.
This new CD-ROM, published in the Adobe Acrobat format, is
priced at $25; Y.A. members pay only $21.25 after their
discount is applied. This wonderful early guidebook is now
available to any Yosemite lover with a computer and a CD drive
- you won't be disappointed.
For
more about "The Yosemite Book" and to order... »
|
| New Bear Awareness T-Shirt Turning
Heads! |
|
 Help us help the bears by purchasing and wearing one of
these striking new t-shirts designed with a message to protect
Yosemite black bears; revenues from their sales benefit
Yosemite's 'Keep Bears Wild' program.
The stone-washed shirts are printed with the 'Yosemite
Wild Bear Project' logo on their fronts, and carry a
full-color wood-block illustration of a black bear on their
backs.
Developed from a poster with the same image (also available
from YA), the print reads 'A Wild Bear is a Beautiful Sight
to See.' The shirts, manufactured by Anvil, are available
in three muted colors: green, tan, and gray.
The good-looking new shirts have a retail price of $16, but
Y.A. members receive a 15% discount and pay only
$13.60. Order your shirt today and help support the
Yosemite bear education program!
To
order your "Bear Awareness" t-shirt... »
| |
| Have You Got a Good Ranger Joke? - Then Enter our
Contest! |
 |
| Yosemite could use a little more humor, and you can
help. We would like to compile a list of hilarious
(preferably) ranger jokes, but we're a little short on
material. We've got thousands of members and readers who must
have a favorite joke or riddle that could be modified
to work with a park ranger as comedic foil.
Need an example? How many rangers does it take to screw
in a light bulb? Remember, we're looking for PG-13 humor,
so don't go devising off-color answers. The answer appears
below.
So send us your ranger joke or riddle by using the link
below. We will prepare a "Top Ten Ranger Jokes" list
with the ten winning entries (if we get that many), then share
it with you.
What do the winners receive? Well, you'll have your choice
of a Yosemite Birding Festival t-shirt in size XL (we've still
got a few left), a copy of the small gift book Yosemite
Meditations, or a copy of the newest YA publication
entitled The Ahwahnee - Yosemite's Grand Hotel. The
entrant with the best overall ranger joke will receive all
three. Send your attempt at humor now!!
Answer: None. Rangers aren't afraid of the dark.
To send us an e-mail with your
ranger joke... |
|
