Alexandra wrote: 
Glen and Bessie Hyde's story is well known in river circles . . . and despite their errors, they seem to be cut a lot of slack from a community often quite harsh in its judgment of mistakes.  I think that slack-cutting is for the reasons you imply, Alexandra—they had such a spirit of pure adventure.  It's most likely, of course, that they were both thrown out and drowned, but hey, maybe it was aliens. . . .

I loved the story of the couple who saw so many parks from their new Buicks . . . and her last sad trip alone.  Sigh.

 Xeric wrote: 

*SPOILER ALERT for those who are still watching it*
I was really saddened by the fate of the young newlywed couple who went down the Colorado.   I mean, I know how they went about it wasn't the smartest, but I wanted their courage and sense of daring to be rewarded somehow. Interesting that their bodies were never recovered—and their boat was in good shape. Maybe aliens beamed them up.

And that poor Mossa....with no family when he died.

Wow.  Really great stuff.  It is the particular genius of Burns or PBS to find and share such touching and relevant personal stories.  Wonderful stuff.

 Alexandra wrote: 
The Rockefellers continue the legacy today, too.

 Alexandra wrote: 
  I didn't know of his generosity, either.  Amazing show!

Well here's to John D. Rockefeller Jr. I had NO idea his generosity had such a hand in so many parks.

They did the Smokies tonight....and Asheville! Can't wait to be there in October!!!

 Rod wrote: 
Niiiiiiiiice.

 Rod wrote: 
Hubba, if not to say, hubba.

 Alexandra wrote: 
I'd love to! The only time I've actually stayed there, a friend and I were on an adventure, deciding on where to go as we went. We ended up in Yosemite on a weekend and couldn't get a campsite anywhere, so we deided to go on a hike and deal with lodging later. As we finished the hike at sunset, we met 2 young women. We talked for a while, told them of our dilemma and that we were having to leave and they insisted we share their campsite.  

 Alexandra wrote: 
Probably not, but we do have a tent. A'me would welcome us no matter what. And we miss her.

 bokey wrote: 
No, no...I meant sorry that I fed him.


BHD: Yes it would! Although, is there enough room for guests in a Yurt with 2 people and a child?

 Alexandra wrote: 
Aww, C'mon. I  dinnit mean you.

 Alexandra wrote: 
Indeed! I want to go back with hobbitt someday. And our niece lives just outside the park. In a yurt. With her husband and three children - including their new baby. It would be cool to visit with her, too.

 Rod wrote:
 
My plan is springtime. I was there in September, and many of the waterfalls weren't gushing. Spring—-just after the snow melt and when all the wildflowers bloom. Wanna go with me???

EDIT: BHD...GMTA!

 BlueHeronDruid wrote: 
I tend to forget the magnitude of these places; just how profoundly they affect me, until I get there and am once again just overwhelmed. 

 Rod wrote: 
Yes, but make it spring if you want to see the waterfalls. I went in early November that year for three days. Most of the falls were mere trickles. But the rock faces were as majestic as they could possibly be. And watching people wake up in their suspended tents (high on the face of El Capitan) before their 2nd day of climbing was pretty intense, too.

 Alexandra wrote: 
We're only a few hours away from some of the largest trees on earth. Shameful that I've stayed away so long.

Visit Yosemite during the offseason, with much smaller crowds.

 BlueHeronDruid wrote: 
Exactly what the one commentator said when he saw a woman just standing in the meadow, speechless. Just going, "Oh. Oh my" over and over.

 bokey wrote: 
Oh. Oops.
*puts away the bread crumbs*

I haven't been around much, sorry.

 Alexandra wrote: 
I went to Yosemite, solo, in the fall of 1993, as part of my "world tour."

There are no words to describe it. And I only saw the valley.