My love of Yosemite started, literally, before I was born. You see, in September of 1951 my Mom and Dad honeymooned in Yosemite. On June 2, 1951 I was born. You do the math. My Mom says that my Grandmothers claim (she was part Cherokee) I was conceived in Yosemite are questionable. I guess my Mom and Dad must have stopped somewhere on the way to Currry Village from Pomona, California where they were married but my Mom won’t say for sure. You could say Yosemite is not only in my blood but in my genes.
Unlike many lovers of Yosemite who came every year to visit or camp in Yosemite, I only came to Yosemite three times (including the “visit” noted above.) Some of my earliest childhood memories include watching “Wonderful World of Disney” episodes about Yosemite and the Sierra Sunday nights after church on our 12” black and white TV, with grilled cheese sandwiches and Campbells’ tomato soup on TV trays nearby. Any body remember the song “They Call The Wind Mariah”?
My next visit to Yosemite was after my graduation from the eigth grade at Roynon School in La Verne, California.  La Verne was a “citrus” town and my “wilderness” was the miles and miles of Citrus Groves that stretched from the Pomona Valley to the San Gabriel foothills. Sounds like Madera County (from the San Joaquin Valley to the Sierra foothills), now that I think about it. We were called “grovers” by the valley kids because that was where we lived, worked and played.
My sophmore year in colllege I returned to Yosemite with a group from Azusa Pacific College (now University) to learn how to cross-country ski at Badger Pass. I came with a group that went on to found “Summit Expeditions” now known as Summit Adventures headquartered at Bass Lake. Azusa Pacific University President Jon Wallace was a freshman on that trip. APU still brings student leader groups each fall to the Sierra for “Walkabout,” a team and personal character building event. Jon and I still communicate via email.
My final return trip to Yosemite was 20 years ago when I took a job at Camp Sugar Pine near Fish Camp. Debby and I wanted our kids to have the same “run free without fear” experience we enjoyed when the groves were still in southern California.
So now I live, work and play in or near Yosemite.
I’m no longer a “grover.”
I make sure my kids and grandkids who now live in Fresno at least come and play in Yosemite and the Sierra as often as possible.
Today some people call me “Yosemite Dan.”
Go figure.