PROGRAM REGISTRATION: After you have your room assignment, come over to the Road Scholar table to register with the program staff and pick up your arrival packet which we'll review during our orientation session.Dinner: Dinner at hotel
Menus are contracted for the program and are designed to offer balanced, healthy meals for the participants. In addition to the regular Road Scholar meal plan, this hotel offers a vegetarian meal option. Unfortunately, there are no other special meal options. Participants with special dietary needs should be prepared to avoid certain foods or supplement the regular meal plan as needed.Evening: ORIENTATION: We'll have an overview of the program ahead and review the up-to-date schedule, responsibilities, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, any other administrative issues, and answer your questions. Please be aware that local circumstances may require adjusting program elements. In the event of changes, we will notify you as quickly as possible. We appreciate your understanding.
CROSSING POINTS: Participants introduce themselves to the rest of the group.
Enjoy the remainder of the evening getting to know your fellow participants and discovering what you share beyond a love of lifelong learning.Lodging: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel San Francisco AirportMeals Included: Dinner
For tens of thousands of years, humans have changed, and have been changed by, this place we now call Yosemite. “It is by far the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter,” said famed naturalist John Muir. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is known for its granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, giant sequoia groves and biological diversity. Two wild and scenic rivers, the Tuolumne and Merced rivers, begin in the park and flow west to the Central Valley. Yosemite is one of the first wilderness parks in the United States and encompasses nearly 1200 square miles.Lunch: Lunch at the historic Wawona Hotel. The Wawona Hotel, a National Historic Landmark, rests upon verdant meadows and beside rushing streams. The tranquility of this Victorian-style lodge in Yosemite makes it a favorite of those who prefer a relaxed environment and the gracious charm of a bygone era.Afternoon: After lunch we'll visit the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias which contains about 500 mature giant sequoias. Giant sequoias are perhaps the largest living things on Earth and may exceed 3000 years in age. We board the motor coach and continue to Yosemite Valley with a stop at Tunnel View for a photo op of the world famous view of the Valley. We travel into the Valley and check into the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls.Dinner: Dinner at the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls Food Court. Dinner coupon will have $18 value. Purchases over $18 will be an out-of-pocket expense of individual.Lodging: Yosemite Lodge at the FallsMeals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tioga Pass Road offers a 39-mile scenic drive between Crane Flat and Tuolumne Meadows through forests and past meadows, lakes, and granite domes. Tenaya Lake is a magnificent High Sierra lake surrounded by granite domes, lodgepole forests and Yosemite’s vast wilderness Tuolumne Meadows is a large, open sub-alpine meadow graced by the winding Tuolumne River and surrounded by majestic peaks and domes. Olmsted Point looks down on Yosemite Valley from the east--and from a very different angle.Lunch: Picnic lunch at Lembert DomeAfternoon: Return to Yosemite Valley and visit the Visitor's Center, Yosemite Museum and the Ansel Adams Gallery.Dinner: Dinner on your own using a $25 gift certificate which will be accepted at any Delaware North Company (DNC) outlet. DNC is the park concessioner.Evening: PERFORMANCE: An Evening with John Muir
A live presentation of John Muir, the Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate for wilderness preservation in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions. His activism helped to save the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is now one of the most important conservation organizations in the United States.Lodging: Yosemite Lodge at the FallsMeals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
First stop is El Capitan Meadow for a straight up view of El Capitan, a favorite for experienced rock climbers. Rising more than 3,000 feet above the Valley floor, it is the largest monolith of granite in the world.
Second stop is Bridalveil Fall for a walk to the base of the falls.Lunch: Enjoy lunch at the Ahwahnee Hotel, a National Historic Landmark. Completed in 1927, it was built in a rustic style with an American Indian motif. Historic paintings of Yosemite, stunning stained-glass windows, and woven tapestries grace the walls of The Great Lounge and Dining Room.Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Guided walk of Ahwahnee Hotel
Known for its magnificent façade, and architecture, the Ahwahnee was specifically designed to highlight its natural surroundings, featuring Yosemite Falls, Half Dome and Glacier Point.Dinner: Dinner at Curry Village Pavillion. Camp Curry was founded in 1899 by David and Jenny Curry, two schoolteachers from Indiana. The pair dreamed of visiting Yosemite, but found that they could not afford the coach fare into the park and still pay the going rate for park lodging at $4 per night. This led to the establishment of Camp Curry - offering affordable room and board within Yosemite, a legacy that continues to this day. The camp was originally comprised of a dozen tents with a common dining center. Its popularity allowed it to quickly grow to hundreds of tents within a few short years.Evening: Program on Ansel AdamsLodging: Yosemite Lodge at the FallsMeals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
This concludes the program. We hope you have enjoyed our 'An American Icon: Majestic Yosemite National Park' program and will join us for other rewarding adventures in the future. Best wishes for all your journeys!Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch