Should you...

[Zeta]

Should you go camping with a guy you met on the internet? If that guy is our friend Daveb, then absolutely you should.

On Friday and Saturday, Dave took the time to show me around the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada. He had me meet him at the Railroad Flat campground on the Merced river:




and from there shared his encyclopedic knowledge of the terrific back roads of the area, and the history of much of it. Railroad Flats for instance was where the railroad from Merced to El Portal used to run. I liked thinking about the number of people who looked at our camping area from a slow moving train over the years.

I'm sure Ansel Adams was on that train many times, so when I told Dave I needed to go to Hornitos, he said something to the effect of "what the f... for?". Turns out the little white church there has been photographed by many of the greats of American photography including Ansel and Edward Weston:



My interpretation:



Thanks Daveb!

Z

[Ford_6L_E350]

C'mon Tom. Dave was at Valley of Fire and so were you.

Come to think about, I was camping at Valley of Fire with a bunch of people I met on the internet.

Mike

[daveb]

I'm glad I didn't let my brother out of the van

[daveb]

Sorry Tom, I guess the picture should look like this


All joking aside, I had a great time and ready to meet up again anytime. I can't wait to see some of your pics. I'll be posting up a little trip report soon. And yes I did say WTF when you said you wanted to go to Hornitos. If we would have been a few days earlier we could have made "Day Of The Dead". A little history: history link

"Although she was of Italian heritage, she did not speak Italian. She always took part in the Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead ceremony, a Mexican custom brought to Hornitos by Dona Candelaria de Sapien.

They would go to the cemetery at dusk to pray and place candles on the graves of loved ones on Nov. 1, which is All Saint's Day in Catholic tradition, then repeat the observance on Nov. 2, which is All Soul's Day.

Others continued the solemn tradition after Candelaria died in 1903 at 86 years of age. But as people got older and died and families moved away, participation dwindled during the late 1930s or early 1940s.

"Some years it was just me and my mom. We kept it up with a few candles," Williams said".

http://www.mariposaresearch.net/memories.html

[Ford_6L_E350]

Dave, thanks for the history. I've been to Hornitos, but we only saw it a nice little motorcycle road with a wide spot in it.

Mike

[macmcintire]

Okay Dave, now you're going to have to show me around the area.

[Zeta]

Dave! You're brother is Bill Paxton?!

Z


http://www.tomsinclair.net

[daveb]

I couldn't find a good picture of Cary Stayner with an ax

[Zeta]

Originally Posted by daveb

I couldn't find a good picture of Cary Stayner with an ax

Actually I was more worried about this guy:



Z

[yvrr]

Originally Posted by Zeta

On Friday and Saturday, Dave took the time to show me around the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada. He had me meet him at the Railroad Flat campground on the Merced river and from there shared his encyclopedic knowledge of the terrific back roads of the area, and the history of much of it. Railroad Flats for instance was where the railroad from Merced to El Portal used to run. I liked thinking about the number of people who looked at our camping area from a slow moving train over the years.

I'm sure Ansel Adams was on that train many times, so when I told Dave I needed to go to Hornitos, he said something to the effect of "what the f... for?".

The railroad that you mention is the Yosemite Valley Railroad that I have been researching for the past 40 years. And, yes, Ansel Adams rode that train but only once in 1916 and, according to his autobiography, enjoyed the sights and smells of the digger pines and the Merced River which the tracks followed. but complained a lot about the heat!