– Carl Bidleman

I admire Shelton Johnson.  He is a gifted musician and an even more gifted storyteller.  John Muir would have loved Shelton’s stories. He has a passion for National Parks, especially Yosemite, which I have come to love. And he’s a native Detroiter.  A west sider, yes, but a Detroiter none the less.  (We can’t all be blessed to have come up on the sunrise side of Woodward.) Shelton Johnson embodies many of life’s good things.  And thanks to Ken Burns, the whole world now knows about Ranger Johnson.

I thought I’d share a couple of videos that I shot a few years ago on a beautiful November Sunday afternoon.  I never published these clips because I realized Shelton’s history walk would be better covered with two cameras instead of one.  So they languished on the shelf.  But when I took another look this weekend, I realized Shelton’s great storytelling skills trump my lack of shooting skills.  I’ll edit the rest of the 90-minute tour in the coming days but here are two of my favorite moments of Shelton’s history walk.  Enjoy.  And check out more of Shelton’s work on the 9th Cavalry here:  http://shadowsoldier.wilderness.net/

Below: Shelton Johnson (as Sgt. Bowman, Sir) tells how being called “Buffalo Soldier” was better than being called “Nigger Cavalry”.

Below: Shelton Johnson (as Sgt. Bowman, Sir) tells tales of the 9th Cavalry “Buffalo Soldiers’” duty in Yosemite and meeting Mr. John Muir.

Find OpenRoad.TV’s other Yosemite videos and stories on our interactive map.

– Carl Bidleman

If you’re looking to climb Half Dome via the cable route this fall, you’ve got two more weeks to do it.  Loyd Schutte, author of Yosemite Blog, one of my favorite websites, reports the cables are being taken down on October 15th, weather permitting.  (If you love Yosemite, subscribe to the free Yosemite Blog.  It’s a daily pleasure.)  Also, check out our two videos: Hiking Yosemite’s Half Dome about Doug’s overnight climb, and How to Climb Half Dome with expert and author, Rick Deutsch.

– Carl Bidleman
It is wickedly hot in California today… 94 right now in Yosemite Valley.  Take a break and see how it looks and sounds in winter.

YOU CAN ALSO SEE THE YOSEMITE IN WINTER VIDEO MY NEIGHBORS JANET AND JEFF CONLEY POSTED.

SEE ALL OF OUR YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK VIDEO STORIES

– Carl Bidleman

Take 60 seconds to see the beauty and listen to the sound of Yosemite Falls. I’m dedicating this one to my dear friend Eleanor Josaitis, Co-Founder of Focus: HOPE, and her husband Don, back home in Detroit. I have great memories of introducing them to Yosemite a few years back. Enjoy, my friends.

Watch a 3 minute 18 second video on the new trail leading to Yosemite falls.

– Carl Bidleman

Our friends at Yosemite Blog posted this news item today:

Yosemite Campground Reservations Available Starting March 15th

Been thinking about going camping in Yosemite this summer? Recreation.gov, the national park services reservation site, will begin taking reservations for guests who want to be sure they’ll have a spot when they arrive at their campground this month.

Starting March 15th at 7 a.m. you’ll be able to start reserving sites for the July 15th – August 14th summer camping season. Campgrounds available for reservations will be: Bridalveil Creek Group and Horse Camp, Crane Flat, Hodgdon Meadow, Lower Pines, North Pines, Tuolumne Meadows, Upper Pines, and Wawona.

Login in early because reservations will be first come – first served.

For more information check out recreation.gov or the yosemite campground information page for a list of campgrounds and dates..

Photo by Stacy Geiken

–Doug McConnell

Yosemite National Park is one of my favorite places and I’ve been there hundreds of times since I was a little kid. I camped out there and stayed in hotels, motels and trailers. I like to spend the night inside the Park whenever I can, but there are some excellent accommodations just outside of Yosemite’s boundary, too.

Down Highway 120 back towards San Francisco half an hour or so The Groveland Hotel is an historic spot, just look out for the ghosts. Closer to the Park and just off of Highway 120 near the Hetch-Hetchy Reservoir, the Evergreen Lodge is a terrific base camp for exploring Yosemite and its surrounds. Just beyond the Park’s southern edge on Highway 41, the Tenaya Lodge is a comfortable retreat to hunker down in between forays in Yosemite. On the east side of the Park, at the foot of Tioga Pass and by the shore of Mono Lake, the town of Lee Vining has a variety of good overnight options as does El Portal on the Park’s west side along Highway 140.

Our good friend and my colleague at KRON TV in San Francisco, Stanley Roberts, has written an excellent piece about a lodge in El Portal. Thanks, Stanley, and stay tuned here because we’ll soon be posting a story we shot with Stanley back in San Francisco. He takes us to some of his favorite eateries in the City, places he found working on his own terrific website, www.we8there.com. Check it out, take a look at Stanley’s hotel tip in El Portal and then get to Yosemite as quickly and as often as you possibly can. Tell us where you stay and what you like.

— Jim Wirth

One of our OpenRoad.TV contributors, Rick Deutsch, lives the Carpe Diem attitude. Rick has hiked Yosemite’s Half Dome over 20 times, and has written a great book on the subject called One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome. Rick also provides valuable up-to-date information about Yosemite at his website and blog. If you have any plans on visiting Yosemite Valley and scaling this iconic rock any time soon, I encourage you to check out what Rick has to say.

— Carl Bidleman

Like Doug, I’ve fallen in love with Yosemite too, which puts me in an exclusive club with only 3-4 million other people who visit every year. I recently discovered and have become very fond of Loyd Schutte’s Yosemite Blog.

I look forward to his daily posts that bring insider’s info and spectacular photos (with photographer credits which is very cool) of the Yosemite region to my inbox. For me it’s a mental journey to Yosemite that I can take when I most need it during the day. In fact, it’s inspired me to create a similar series for this blog that I’ll call 10 Second Vacation featuring stunning or intriguing photos from around the west. Thanks Loyd. And take care of Yosemite for the rest of us till we can get back there again.