New year marked with campfires, caviar at Yosemite National Park The Sacramento Bee - January 1, 2000 YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) -- At Yosemite National Park, New Year's Eve meant anything from campfires to caviar. Not far from the campers in Yosemite Valley, partygoers in black tie and gowns were headed for the luxury Ahwahnee Hotel for a night of ballroom dancing. The hotel held a lottery to select the 300 guests, but kept the usual $290-a-night room rate. Outside, it was strictly fleece and hiking boots for the parties around tents and campfires. Dozens of revelers skated under the stars at a park rink. Many were bundled up in new Christmas sweaters, hats and mittens, toted hot chocolate or coffee and visited a nearby campfire to stay warm in the 30-degree evening temperature. The sky was so clear and bright the skaters could see the outline of giant granite cliffs against the night sky. "I love the natural beauty of the place and wanted to celebrate the beauty of creation out here," said Jerri Rizer, 60, with rosy cheeks and a twinkle in her eye. Ms. Rizer, visiting with three friends from the Valley Community Church in Pleasanton, asked the skate rental attendant for a helmet. "We're trying this after 100 years of not skating," she said with a laugh. Nine-year-old Shamrae Crow of Grover Beach made it around the rink three times without stopping. "The ice skating is cool. I did good," she said, lying on her back as her father, Tom, removed her skates. The Crows, making their first visit to the park, shared a campsite with about 30 friends from San Francisco, Los Angeles and Grover Beach. Yosemite offered a nice chance to get away from New Year's crowds, Tom Crow said. Camper Bob Dunstan has been coming to Yosemite for New Year's for the last 24 years. This year, it's also his impromptu engagement party -- he popped the question to his girlfriend Phyllis Scott. "It feels like my home away from home," Dunstan said from his campsite Friday night. "Every time we come here it's been a wonderful experience. We meet a group of friends and have a party in our tent." Hotel rooms and cabins around the park were full and campgrounds were near capacity. There were about 2,000 New Year's visitors, which compares to a peak of about 7,000 in summer. The park offered free dances and planned to keep its concession stands open through the evening. Park rangers planned to work double shifts through New Year's weekend with search and rescue workers, paramedics and firefighters standing by. Park facility managers monitored Y2K news throughout the day Friday. They had few worries about Year 2000-related computer problems because the park already had backup power generators due to its typically harsh winters. "Any worries I've had have dissipated as the millennium passes by around the globe," said Dave Marino, executive housekeeper at Yosemite's Curry Village.