1. Old Grizzly, Mariposa Big Trees. 2. Old Sunset, Mariposa Big Trees.
From Fresno we drove across somewhat uninteresting country, rolling and solitary, diversified only by grain fields and stacks of alfalfa, to Madera. At Madera we turned our faces toward the high Sierras, going on to Raymond with a view to driving over the mountain road to Wawona, one of the gates of the Yosemite and very near to the famous Mariposa Grove of Big Trees.
CHAPTER VI
When we reached Raymond we had left the valleys behind us and were in the rough country preceding the long climb up through the high Sierras to Wawona. It was late afternoon, and as we drove along we enjoyed the wooded hills and the far views over deep gulleys to the mountains beyond, in the afternoon sunshine. We met but few people on the steep, rocky mountain road. At one point we passed a roadside group of campers for the night. They had unharnessed their weary horses, had built a fire, and were preparing their supper. The water-trough used by travelers was close by, and they had pure spring water for their needs. There were two families, with a host of children, going up into the pine woods to one of the sawmills where the men were to work. The young mother of one family had with her a little three-weeks-old baby, fat and rosy-looking as his proud father held him before the fire. The poor mother was very weary and disheartened. "I am not used to this," she said, as she folded up some bits of clothing that she had been washing for the children. The wagons looked as if furniture and clothing had been piled in "higgledy pigglety." The children and their parents slept as best they could on top of this lumpy mass. One little girl of twelve or so had a tear-stained face and a look of real suffering in her blue eyes. She had hurt her ankle in running up and down the mountain roads with the other children. I felt sorry for the poor child, as it was evident that her sprained ankle would have little care in this itinerant household. We were glad that the tired company had the mild evening air in which to lie down and rest.
As we went on, the scenery grew wilder and the road grew rougher. Something ailed our machine, too. It transpired that we had a bad spark plug and there was nothing for it but to return to Raymond and have things put right in the little garage there. We did so and then we made the foolish mistake of deciding to go on, although the shadows were deepening, toward Wawona. So once more we climbed the narrow, rutted mountain road. It was astonishing how fast the twilight fell. We had thought that we still had a good hour before darkness came on, but it grew dark alarmingly fast, and we were soon driving along in forest blackness over the uneven road. We kept the horn going for fear of meeting something around the sharp corners which were so numerous, but the road was utterly lonely. Tall pines stood close to the roadside, the lamps of the motor throwing a light here and there upon their massive trunks. Clusters of manzanita branches brushed against our machine, the light flashing upon them, showing their lovely green leaves arranged like shining rosettes around their wine-colored stems. Everything was wet with recent rain and wonderfully beautiful as the light of the lamps flashed here and there. At last we passed a little cottage by the roadside. There was a dim light in the house. The door opened and the figure of a man appeared dark against the background of the lighted room. We called out to him and asked how much farther Miami Lodge was. "Just a few miles," he said, and very kindly offered to telephone to the Lodge that we were coming, so they would have some supper for us. It seemed a long distance to us as we crept cautiously around the shoulder of the mountain, down steep pitches and up long slopes. But at last we saw the welcome lights of the Lodge. How pleasant it was to see an open fire in the sitting room, to eat a hot supper in the delightful dining room, and to find a dainty sleeping room furnished with a woman's taste. Miami Lodge is a half-way house between Raymond and Wawona. It is an ideal resting spot for people who love the pine woods and the quiet and solitude of the forest.
1. Summit of Pass between Raymond and Wawona, entering Yosemite Valley. 2. Miami Lodge, on way to Yosemite.