Four Jewels: Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Yosemite & Death Valley

Activity note: Hotel check-in from 3:00 p.m.

Afternoon: Program Registration: Check-in with the hotel front desk to receive your room assignment. Bring your luggage to your room and then walk to the Road Scholar table to register with the program staff and get your welcome packet containing your up-to-date schedule that reflects any last-minute changes and other important information. If you arrive late, please ask for your packet when you check in at the front desk. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the program theme, the up-to-date daily schedule and any changes, discuss safety guidelines, emergency procedures, roles and responsibilities, and answer any questions. For several meals on this program, we ask you to pre-order your preferred entrée. Please see the “Notes” section for details. Unlike most hotel-based Road Scholar programs, the Four Jewels program is a rigorous, moving adventure in which participants will be on the road every day with access to your rooms at the beginning and end of each day. All transportation will be via private motorcoach unless specified otherwise. We have set aside some free time in the schedule for your personal independent exploration. Program activities, schedules, and personnel may need to change due to local circumstances. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

Dinner: In a private meeting room, enjoy a plated meal plus water, coffee, and tea; other beverages available for purchase.

Evening: Enjoy the remainder of the evening getting to know your fellow participants and discovering what you share beyond a love of lifelong learning.

Activity note: The ride is approximately 250 miles covered in about 4 1/2 hours with several stops to stretch our legs.

Breakfast: At the hotel, enjoy a buffet featuring an assortment of hot and cold breakfast items plus coffee, tea, assorted juices, and water.

Morning: We will depart via private motorcoach to Sequoia National Park. The coach will travel the I-5, a major north-south route which bisects the LA metropolitan area. The freeway travels through chaparral covered mountains that are hot and dry. The first scheduled rest stop is at Pyramid Lake, one of the many reservoirs in the state. After the rest stop, the freeway drops down into the heart of agriculture country in California. You will see the farms, orchards, and vineyards of the San Joaquin Valley.

Lunch: Enjoy a lunch with a variety of hot and cold items plus water, coffee, tea, soda, and lemonade.

Afternoon: Upon arrival in Sequoia National Park, we will visit the sequoia grove that has the General Sherman Tree and learn about giant sequoia ecology. Estimated to be between 2,300–2,700 years old, the General Sherman Tree is the largest currently living tree in the world. Sequoia National Park was established in 1890 and encompasses a vertical relief of nearly 13,000 feet with the highest point in the lower 48 states, Mount Whitney. The park is south of and contiguous with Kings Canyon National Park.

Dinner: At a local restaurant, enjoy a plated dinner including entrée, rolls and butter, dessert, and non-alcoholic beverages.

Evening: At leisure.

Activity note: Walking distances up to 1 mile on smooth, flat terrain.

Breakfast: At the hotel, enjoy a buffet with assorted toast, fresh fruit, yogurt plus fruit juice, coffee, tea, milk, and water.

Morning: Visit the Kings Canyon Visitor Center in Grant Grove Village before continuing onto General Grant Tree, one of the five largest trees on earth. Located in the General Grant Grove and named after General Ulysses S. Grant, the giant sequoia is arguably the largest living creature on Earth. A relative of the coastal redwood – the tallest tree on Earth – the giant sequoia reaches a height of well over 200 feet and can live to several thousand years. The General Grant Tree is estimated to be close to 1,700 years old while the General Sherman Tree is estimated to be between 2,600 to 2,700 years old.

Lunch: Enjoy a picnic lunch.

Afternoon: Visit Roaring River Falls during a short, relaxing hike. Created by the snowmelt running through the canyon, the falls drop nearly 40 feet off a narrow ledge into the pool below. As we leisurely make our way to the Falls, we’ll have excellent views of the Kings River and the surrounding granite cliffs, including Grand Sentinel (8,518 feet) and North Dome (8,717 feet) while receiving commentary about the natural history and storytelling.

Dinner: At a local restaurant, enjoy a plated dinner including entrée, rolls and butter, dessert, and non-alcoholic beverages.

Evening: Enjoy a living history program, An Evening with John Muir. Born in Scotland in 1838, Muir emigrated to the U.S. with his family in 1849. During his lifetime, he was a farmer, inventor, sheepherder, explorer, botanist. and writer but he is best known as America's most famous and influential naturalist, conservationist, and founder of the Sierra Club. Often called the “Father of our National Park System,” Muir’s writings and efforts resulted in Congress creating Yosemite National Park. He was also involved in the creation of the Grand Canyon, Kings Canyon, Petrified Forest, and Mount Rainier National Parks.

Activity note: Ride is approximately 130 miles that takes about 3 hours. We’ll stop along the way for lunch and to stretch; Short walk around Pioneer Village; The walk around Pioneer Village is on uneven, dirt terrain. There are no elevators at the lodge.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: We’ll head out from the hotel and make our way to Yosemite National Park. On our drive, we will pass through the cities of Fresno and Oakhurst.

Lunch: At the historic Wawona Hotel, enjoy a plated lunch with salad, bread and butter, entrée with side, and dessert. Coffee, tea, milk, and water included; other beverages are available for purchase. The Wawona Hotel, a National Historic Landmark, is surrounded by meadows and rushing streams. The tranquility of this Victorian-style hotel in Yosemite makes it a favorite of those who prefer a relaxed environment and the gracious charm of a bygone era.

Afternoon: We'll visit the Pioneer Village History Center near the Wawona Hotel. This ‘village’ is assembled from structures that were originally found in different locations throughout the park and moved in the 1950’s and 60’s. Each building represents a different chapter in Yosemite’s story. Continue on HWY 41 into Yosemite Valley with a stop at Tunnel View. You will get your first glimpse of El Capitan, Half Dome and Bridalveil Fall. Many artists painted the scene as they entered the newly formed park in the 1800s. It is one of the most recognized scenes of Yosemite.

Dinner: On your own. This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions and give directions. Dining options will be listed in the “Yosemite Guide” park newspaper published several times a year and available on line at http://www.travelyosemite.com/lodging/dining/.

Evening: At Leisure. There are many opportunities to enjoy the park after dark on your own. Use the “Yosemite Guide” to find out what programs are being offered, programs offered by the National Park are free of charge. https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/guide.htm Programs at the Yosemite Theater require a ticket that you can purchase the day of at the visitor center bookstore or on-line at https://yosemite.org/experience/theater/.

Activity note: On and off park shuttle bus. 2-3 mile walk on paved and unpaved paths.

Breakfast: At Yosemite Valley Lodge, enjoy a buffet style breakfast offering muffins and baked goods, scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, fresh fruit salad, bacon, sausage, French toast, granola plus milk, coffee, tea, juice, and water.

Morning: Meet your group leader to take the national park shuttle bus or walk to the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center. Enjoy the exhibits that cover geology, flora, fauna and human history in Yosemite. At the Visitor Center we'll view the "Spirit of Yosemite", a 23-minute film about Yosemite National Park, and explore the exhibits. Without question, Yosemite is one of America's most beautiful and best known of our national parks. Designated as the country’s third national park in October 1890, Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias have been preserved since 1864. For the first time in history, Congress set land aside for the preservation and recreation for all people, and the national park concept was born. Next to the visitor center is the Yosemite Museum which houses a large collection of historical artifacts from Yosemite’s past. The building was built in 1925 and was the first museum built in the national park system. We will listen to a cultural demonstrator who will provide insight into the history of Native Americans in the valley and the Yosemite area. The Indian Village of the Ahwahnee behind the museum sits on top of what was once the largest village in the valley. People have been living in the valley for thousands of years but have been using the valley’s resources in different ways.

Lunch: Bag lunch provided by the hotel restaurant.

Afternoon: We will meet our naturalist in front of the visitor center for a guided walk through the valley. The trail will include paved and unpaved sections with a variety of terrain. Walk will be no more than 3 miles. Along the trail, we will learn more about the local plants, animals and cultural history from a local guide. The valley has gone through many phases as the people who inhabit the area change. The valley continues to change and adapt to the millions of people visiting the small valley in the Sierras.

Dinner: This meal has been excluded from the program and is on your own to enjoy.

Evening: At Leisure. There are many opportunities to enjoy the park after dark on your own. Use the “Yosemite Guide” to find out what programs are being offered, programs offered by the National Park are free of charge. https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/guide.htm Programs at the Yosemite Theater require a ticket that you can purchase the day of at the visitor center bookstore or on-line at https://yosemite.org/experience/theater/.

Activity note: Weather permitting, ride is about 235 miles that takes no more than 6 hours. Tioga Road (Hwy 120 through the park) closes due to snow, usually from November through late May or early June (See "Notes" section for details). We’ll make stops along the way to stretch. No elevator at Dow Hotel & Dow Villa Motel. Easy walk on flat surface to Lone Pine Film History.

Breakfast: At the lodge.

Morning: We will board the motorcoach and depart Yosemite for Lone Pine via the scenic Tioga Road, the park’s trans-Sierra Nevada crossing. We’ll stop at Olmstead Point for a scenic overlook and enjoy an easy walk at Tuolumne Meadows located in the heart of Yosemite’s high country. Tioga Pass Road offers a 39-mile scenic drive between Crane Flat and Tuolumne Meadows through forests, meadows, lakes, and granite domes. The road is one of the few roads that pass over the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the eastern side into Owens Valley. It started as a dirt road in 1915 and was slowly paved and widened over the years. It was fully completed by the 1960s with the rise in car sales and families taking road trips to the national parks. Olmsted Point looks down on Yosemite Valley from the east--and from a very different angle. 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.

Lunch: Enjoy a bag lunch with a sandwich that was previously selected at the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area Visitors Center. (See "Notes" sections for details.)

Afternoon: After lunch, drive to Lone Pine and check into the Dow Hotel. This charming hotel was built in the early 1920's and housed many early Hollywood stars who were filming in the Alabama Hills including John Wayne, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers.

Dinner: At a local restaurant in Lone Pine, we’ll have a plated meal featuring the entrée selected previously plus water, coffee, tea, and soda. (See "Notes" section for details.)

Evening: We’ll walk from the hotel to our program at the Lone Pine Film History Museum, where we will learn about the Hollywood history of this tiny dwelling in the California desert.The small museum houses a large collection of memorabilia from the Hollywood Westerns that were filmed in the Alabama Hills. We will enjoy an evening watching one of the movies that was filmed in the Alabama Hills.

Activity note: Walking up to 1/2 mile on flat terrain. The drive is about 80 miles that will take about 2 hours.

Breakfast: At a local restaurant across the street from the hotel, we’ll have a plated meal plus water, coffee, tea, and juice.

Morning: Visit Manzanar National Historic Site Interpretive Center and view the 22-minute documentary “Remembering Manzanar”. Led by a Park Ranger, enjoy an expert led visit to the best preserved site where Japanese-Americans were incarcerated during WWII. On our ride through the Manzanar National Historic Site, see where just over 10,000 people were kept behind barbed wire and learn the stories of the 120,000 Japanese-Americans that were relocated to ten different sites by the War Relocation Authority in 1942.

Lunch: In the Manzanar Mess Hall, we will enjoy a catered lunch plus bottled water or tea.

Afternoon: Our day continues with an expert-led ride through the Alabama Hills, an area of granite boulders that is considered part of the Sierra Nevada mountains. They are considered their own range due to their features, which sharply contrast the rest of the Sierra Nevada range, containing Mount Whitney; the highest summit in the continental United States with a peak of just over 14,500 feet. The Alabama Hills are featured in many Hollywood films including "How the West was Won," "Gladiator," and "Iron Man." Our Journey will take us from the mountains to the desert as we travel through the Panamint Mountains on the way to Death Valley National Park. We will check into Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park, an oasis in the desolate landscape of Death Valley.

Dinner: At Stovepipe Wells, we’ll enjoy a buffet dinner plus water, coffee, or tea.

Evening: At leisure.

Activity note: Walking will include distances up to 1 mile on mostly flat terrain.

Breakfast: At Stovepipe Wells, we’ll enjoy a hot breakfast buffet plus water, coffee, tea, and assorted juices.

Morning: From the hotel, we’ll take an all day field trip throughout Death Valley. The lowest point in North America, Death Valley receives its name from the extreme heat and limited rain that make it one of the most desolate places on the continent. Located in the northwest corner of the Mojave Desert, it contains a diverse landscape from sand dunes and salt-flats to canyons and mountains.

Lunch: Enjoy a lunch buffet at a Furnace Creek Restaurant.

Afternoon: We’ll continue our visit around the sites of Death Valley.

Dinner: At Stovepipe Wells. Our farewell dinner features the entrées we selected previously. (See “Notes” section for details.)

Evening: At leisure.

Activity note: Walking on sandy surfaces up mild inclines on the sand dunes. Ride to Los Angeles International Airport is approximately 4 hours.

Breakfast: At Stovepipe Wells.

Morning: From the hotel, we'll visit the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. These graceful desert dunes are among the best known in Death Valley National Park and are beautifully rippled from the wind, which is seemingly always blowing. While the highest dune rises less than 150 feet, they cover a broad expanse of space. They may be most famous as the location where the dune scenes were filmed in the Star Wars series. We’ll return to Stovepipe Wells after the Sand Dunes to depart for Los Angeles travelling though Trona, Ridgecrest and Mojave.

Lunch: At a local restaurant in Ridgecrest, we’ll have a plated meal featuring the entrées we selected previously plus water, coffee, tea, and soda. (See "Notes" section for details.)

Afternoon: When returning to the Courtyard Los Angeles LAX/Century Boulevard Hotel, an additional stop will be made at LAX for those who would like to be dropped off at the airport instead of the hotel. This concludes our program. We hope you enjoy all your Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. We encourage you to join our Facebook page and share photos of your program. Visit us at www.facebook.com/rsadventures. Best wishes for all your journeys!