Fulfilling My Promise…
My father and I traveled to Yosemite National Park on several occasions, the last together in 2016. He loved Yosemite. His family visited there when he was a young boy and stayed at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite Valley.
My parents lived in Wisconsin. In March of 2017 my parents were visiting us here in California. Dad and I had planned to go to Yosemite for our annual day trip, but snow levels had kept the main road to the park closed. It was at that time that I had promised him, during his next trip, we would go back to Yosemite and spend a lot of time at his favorite place in the world, Glacier Point. Very sadly, he died not too much later in 2017.
It always bothered me that we were not able to see Yosemite one more time. He was very disappointed at the time. I felt that I must fulfill my promise…so I asked my mother if I could take Dad’s ashes with me to Yosemite, most notably to Glacier Point, one last time. She understood my need and graciously agreed to let me bring Dad’s ashes to California.
The video shows our last trip…which seemed empty and fulfilling at the same time. I wanted my father to be with me so badly, but was happy knowing in an odd way he was still with me.
We almost did not make it. Rangers had blocked the entrance road and made drivers wait for open parking spaces. When I approached, I saw dozens of cars waiting, so I did the wrong thing and argued with one of the Rangers. Fortunately, Dad was looking out for us and the second Ranger I spoke to was a little more sympathetic to my cause and let me through without waiting. I will always be grateful to that Ranger!
The video is approximately 44 minutes long. The actual trip is about 2.5 hours, just to get to the entrance of the park. So, I cut a lot of my driving out. It is still a long video to watch, but for me, everything in it is special. The end culminates with a walk around Glacier Point and some memories of 2016. I am not a professional video editor, but I still hope you enjoy our trip.
John M. Yonan III
I did not notice it at the time, but later realized that this is the exact spot, on the exact granite boulder, that Mom and Dad sat for a photo back in 1979.