Easy Goes It: Day One/Two

Day: One and Two

Easy Goes It

By: Audrey R. Garcia

Arg136@txstate.edu

Miles Traveled: 1,648 by air

Time: 4 hours 4 minutes

Fun fact: Austin-Bergstrom International Airport’s roadways are anarchy at 5:00 a.m. on a Sunday.

Had to stop for a picture with the entrance sign

Waking up at 4:00 a.m. seems to be easier when there’s fun travel plans on the way. Jessica and I had plans to be taken to the Austin airport by my boyfriend, Quintin, so there could be as little hassle as possible. Although being dropped off at the airport is an easier route, I wasn’t prepared with how crowded and crazy the roadways are leading into the airport entrance. Cars were swerving in and out of lanes, and they basically were creating their own lines. When we finally arrived at the entrance, I was very excited that my vehicle hadn’t been side swept. Once in the airport, Jessica and I checked into our flight and made it to the gate with ease. We met up with our professors, Dale Blasingame and Jessica James, as well as nine other students. Luckily, for us, the rest of the flights were a breeze.

Riding to the Valley

1,600 miles later we arrived at the Fresno International Airport in California and we were greeted by a display of fake giant sequoias, reminding us to stay off their roots. This got me even more excited about our car ride to the valley. On the two-hour car ride to Yosemite Valley we saw miles of gorgeous wilderness and awed at breathtaking landscapes filled with bright foliage and swift coursing rivers.

For lunch the group stopped at 1850 Restaurant and Brewery in Mariposa, California. I ordered the Chipotle Chicken sandwich, and the restaurant definitely delivered the goods. The chicken was tender and juicy with cheese oozing off the sides, and it seemed the whole group was satisfied after the feast. All the food that we consumed got us ready for the next coming hours at Yosemite National Park.

Once we arrived at the Yosemite National Park entrance sign, excitement filled the cabin of the van, and everyone was ready to stretch their legs for the next five days. We drove a little further and soon we were able to check into camp at Halfdome Village. We all quickly got to our tents, and got as much rest as possible as we anticipated what was in store for us during the week.

Landscape picture taken by Mist Trail

A great start to the week

Our guide, Kaleb Goff, teaching us all about nature.

Jessica and I woke up early Monday morning to retrieve some coffee before our first hike of the week. We then met the rest of the group at the visitor entrance of Halfdome Village. I was ecstatic about our guided hiking tour that Dale had prepared with Yosemite Conservancy for the group.  The hike was led by Kaleb Goff, a Yosemite Conservancy Naturalist, who you could tell had passion for storytelling and all things nature. Kaleb was very insightful and kept the class interested with every detail he had about the park. He talked about the “Leave No Trace” policy, which included seven guidelines to traveling parks without infringing on nature’s rights.

That’s right, nature has intrinsic rights. This is a concept that I always believed in, but the way Kaleb was able to explained it, the meaning became solid. Nature has rights and we should protect them. That was my biggest take away from the four-hour hike.

After the hike, my park partner Sam and I got our first interviews for our projects from Kaleb, and they were fantastic. We then decided to use the rest of our day to get to know each other, strategize our week and take b-roll as we decompressed from a great learning experience.