Posting #16 Attention 'Jr. Rangers-to-Be'...

So you have young kids coming to the reunion and they (and maybe YOU) are worried they'll be board to tears?  Well, keep reading this blog for more and more things to do with kids in the Valley.  The younger ones MAY wish to earn a 'merit badge' and become a Jr. Ranger.  We'll post more about the program later but here is the form they can be thinking about to qualify when they arrive:

Posting #15 Recommeded Reading and Shameless Pimping

OK, so maybe you've decided to come to the ABC Dohrmann Family Reunion in Yosemite in June 2012 and you're wondering how you can learn MORE about the Dohrmann involvement in the Park's earliest years.  Well, there is a way and for not much money.  And hey, you have a whole year to read it.

Just visit this link: Yosemite & It's Innkeepers

There is a lot there...have fun with it.  I know I have.

Posting #14 Hey, never give up!

Congratulations to those who were successful in nailing down your reservations for Yosemite Valley in 2012.  There are about 59 of you!  To those that just couldn't get to it or who need to wait to book don't give up.  Yes, things are showing as booked..kinda KNEW they might, but there are ALWAYS people cancelling.  If you want it bad enough you'll still get in.

There ARE options near by the Valley that provide a great experience if you have to stay outside the valley.  El Portal and Wawona are about 30 minutes drive; although staying in the Valley is preferred you can still probably make a Fall-Back-Plan-B at one of these places as you try to get a cancellation for the Valley.

The main thing is...DON'T give up.

Posting #13.5 ... Now! Now! Now!

This message ALSO sent via E-mail and FaceBook:

Monday is June 13th and that would be the date you’ll want to be calling Yosemite Reservations (801-559-5000) if you’re planning to attend the ABC Dohrmann Family Reunion Event in Yosemite Valley June 14th thru June 17th 2012. We recommend staying IN the Valley: Curry Village, Yosemite Lodge OR the Ahwahnee Hotel. You’ll remember the whole reason we pushed it out to 2012 was to have the widest choices of accommodations for folks booking reservations; you MUST book one year and one day before you plan to arrive to get what you want.  The take calls starting 8 AM.  Expect to have to wait on line, maybe up to 10 minutes or more.

I wouldn’t recommend trying to book on line.  I checked and it sort of indicates there are few to zero availabilities in the Ahwahnee and Yosemite Lodge in ALL of June, but when I called to ask about that they tell me the online system is having ‘issues’.  You can cancel up to 7 days before your dates, they tell me.

This info is sent to you now presuming that you KNOW that the duce we’re talking about… a 3-night stay, booked by each party hoping to attend a family reunion in Yosemite Valley.  Some may not be able to come for 3 nights (Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights, leaving Sunday).  But we HOPE, given the difficulty involved in making it to the site, you’ll come for as much of it as you can.  Saturday night will {most likely} be a group BBQ dinner, so surely you’ll wanna make that.  We’ll have details later on any cost contribution for the dinner (assuming we don’t get a sponsor).   And we’ll develop a full list of events with input from YOU once we get closer.  You’ll have plenty of time for sight seeing and smaller family visits as well as group events.

I’m NOT getting calls or e-mails asking me what this is all about so I’m assuming if you’re reading this you are on board with the idea.  Quite a few years back many of us gathered on Angel Island and that was AMAZING.  This one is for those who can’t get enough family.  I know MY hand is up…waaay up.

Here is the number to start calling at 8 AM on the 13th…   You can expect to have to call back to get thru...they get busy early in the day; you’ll probably be calling right after ME.  Don’t worry…you can always change or cancel up to 30 days before the event. Trust me, don’t delay getting your booking in.

It’s gonna be SUCH fun.  The hard part is waiting 12 months!~

Can't be sure EVERYONE is getting this so, if you even THINK a family member isn't in the list please forward this to them.
Oh and if you DO book could please let me know where and which dates you plan to go?  We’ll wanna track all this so we can ‘hook everyone up’.  Thanks.

-- Mark Dohrmann
503-224-2262
503-530-6623

Posting #12 Details for Dohrmann Yosemite Reunion in 2012

Let’s get started! ** Reunion ** Reunion ** Reunion ** Reunion **

Ok, by now surely you’re aware we want to gather DOHRMANN’S, with extended Dohrmann family, in June of 2012 at Yosemite Valley.  We’d hoped to do it THIS year, but it turned out 10 months in advance wasn’t enough time to get everyone the reservation of his or her choice.  So, to make sure that DOESN’T happen again we are asking you to book your reservation one YEAR and one DAY in advance. 

Here are the dates:

 June 14^th (Thursday), 15^th and 16^th, leaving on Sunday the 17^th, 2012

When and where to call to make your reservation:

Start calling 8 AM on June 13^th!  (801) 559-4884 

The later you call the fewer your options may be.  Yosemite is HUGELY popular.  Mark your calendar so you don’t forget to call.

Which option for accommodations should I choose?

If you’re a first time or occasional visitor to the Yosemite Valley you may not know what option best suits you and your family.  There are principally THREE choices for places to stay close to the action in Yosemite Valley… affordable, moderate and muy expensive!  They are, in order Curry Village, Yosemite Lodge and the Ahwahnee Hotel.   Curry Village offers Canvas sided tents with bunks and common public restrooms and showers, with a LIMITED supply of Cabins that have showers; Yosemite Lodge is sort of motel-like.  The Ahwahnee is the grand dame of the Valley.  Nice rooms; all you’d expect in a 4+ star Hotel.  For more information call or visit http://www.yosemitepark.com/Accommodations.aspx, or you can call Mark Dohrmann at 503-530-6623.

Why might I want to make this a priority and why so many nights?

Well, over 35 Dohrmann families have expressed interest in this event.  Yosemite was chosen because if ABC Dohrmann’s involvement in the earliest days of the park.  It’s a marvelous spot for a gathering but it takes a bit to get there.  Past reunions lasting one day have left most of us yearning for more.  This is the opportunity!

What opportunities for gathering can we expect?

This is an evolving event, but somethings we can say for sure will occur:

·      There will be am informal dinner gathering (self hosted) at Curry Village on Thursday night for the hearty early arrivals

·      Family will be encouraged to attend a casual meet & greet Friday night, Curry Village, after the regularly scheduled Ranger Campfire Program

·      There will be one or more group hikes for those interested, Saturday morning after breakfast for sure

·      There will be a group dinner/BBQ at the Yosemite Lodge area Saturday Night 

·      We hope that all can enjoy a breakfast at the Ahwahnee Hotel at around the same hour on one morning…either Friday, or Sunday morning…just because it’s so beautiful a dinning hall

More events can be added or amended as people express interests.  We don’t want to OVER schedule because it’s also nice for smaller groups to discover similar interests; and the site seeing is spectacular!

Yosemite Valley is about a 4 to 4.5 hour drive from the Bay Area, about the same from

Reno, if you should fly in there.  The shortest drive is from Fresno, under 3 hours.

So that’s it for now.  We hope you’ll come.  It won’t be much fun without you.  Come see folks you hardly ever see, forgot or never even KNEW you were related to.  Call or write me if you have questions or just got excited and want to talk about it.  You can also follow us on line at:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_186307581388948&ap=1

Blogspot: http://yosemiteabc.blogspot.com/

We’re gonna use whatever it takes short of smoke signals to reach you.  Oh and please be sure the rest of your/our family is aware of this.

#11 If you're Family...and you're reading this...

If you're Family...and you're reading this and you use Facebook ... please go to facebook.com/mark.dohrmann and look for the 'Yosemite "Campers"' group.  If you even THINK you might be coming to Yosemite in June 2012 to gather with ABC Dohrmann Family then be sure I get you added to the group, as I use the Facebook group as my MAIN way of being sure I get messages to you all.

I don't have all your contacts yet and I keep waking up at night thinking I might be missing one or more of you.

#10 Post - And just outside the Park there's a place to stay...

I've added a B&B Julie and I have actually stayed in (last Spring) which is just outside the park, maybe a 20 minute drive.  The Blue Butterfly Inn is a nice place to stay that's as close as you can get without actually BEING in the valley.  Rooms are nice, the hosts are great (ask to see his climbing photos, if you go).

The only problem, and its a big one, with staying in El Portal is that there is NO decent place to eat lunch or dinner.  I mean NADA.  Plan to drive to to Park to eat, or snack from the grocery two miles or so south west of the inn.

WE stayed there because our friends we were traveling with had dogs and the near by motel allows them.  The B&B does not.

#9 Post - Oprah does Yosemite....Reservations get tighter...

#8 Post - Just insane that here we are planning a Yosemite gathering and Oprah is airing HER Yosemite adventure (A trip she took last year, I think).  I'll tell you, if the Dohrmann's AND Oprah want to do it EVERYONE will want to do it.  We need to pick some dates!

Click on the link embedded above to read.  I NEVER watch Oprah, but I will today!

AND, what she says is the PERFECT camping beverage?  The Moscow Mule.

Servings: Serves 1

Ingredients

• 1 ounce vodka
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• Fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup ginger beer
• 1 sprig fresh mint
• 1 slice of lime

Directions

In a copper mug, pour vodka over ice. Add sugar syrup and lime juice. Top with ginger beer and stir. Garnish with mint sprig and lime slice.

#8 Post - And our own Sarah L. said....

"I agree about Camp Curry- that's where Pete & I stayed last time we went and it was very affordable and a lot of fun- nice to have a pub within walking distance, too- haha."

"We actually thought the tents would be more rustic than they were- we got there after dark and were fumbling around with flashlights for half an hour, only to find a long cord hanging from the ceiling... and voila! Lights, cots made up with bedding, and even a little dresser thing!"

"The noises we heard in the night were either wild animals or wild college students (I'm assuming most were the latter) and a small creature got into the locked metal "food safe" outside the tent and ate my leftover Halloween candy, wrappers and all, but it made for a really fun adventure!"

"Can't wait for the reunion!"

#7 Post - OK now we are 'rollin'

We are starting to get a nice group size of people who at least HOPE to go the Yosemite this early September 2011 and meet with family members.  I really had no idea if this was going to actually happen, but now more than a few of us are hopeful it'll come together.

Please be sure you are sharing the blog and facebook link with family:  Sisters, brothers, Uncles, Aunts, cousins, "steps", "halfs", even causal acquaintances who feel like family, if you are so moved.  Check the blog every week or so to see what's new...OR, you could become a blog follower and get notices everytime someone leaves a post or comment.

And YOUR comments are welcome.  Of course they are.

#6 Post - A few words on Hiking in the Valley

There are so MANY great walks/hikes in Yosemite Valley.  I've done quite a few over these years of mine.

• The hike up Yosemite Falls, shouldn't be attempted in 90+ degrees, lemme tell ya.  It's a steep climb with NO water, but it has it's rewards.
• The Four Mile, from the Valley Floor to Glacier Point will get your blood pumping.  It's a knee blowout waiting to happen for the 'less than fit'.  Amazing vistas, though.  Ride the bus either to the top or back down, based on which way you'd like to hike...top to bottom or bottom to top.
• The Mirror Pond walk is perhaps the easiest, shortest and doable for any age group
• The hike from Glacier point to the Valley Floor via the Panorama Trail is one that left me stiff as a board the day after doing it back when I was a spry 59.  I LOVE this hike.  Allow all day.  And another to recover.  It's mostly down hill and hard on the knees and hips.  Poles are HIGHLY recommended even for folks in their 30's.

But if I HAD only one hike to do, and maybe only 2 hours to do it, I'd probably do the Vernal Falls Bridge Trail from Happy Isles.  One gets there from anywhere in Yosemite aboard the fabulous free bus system in the valley.  From the Trail Head it's like 1.6 miles to the bridge and while not too strenuous it CAN seem a bit arduous at that altitude (4,000'+).  Much of it is on asphalt, which though strange works for strollers and wheel chairs...kinda. Even in the fall when the Valley Falls are not producing much Vernal Falls will still be handsome.

If I had more energy and maybe 4-5 hours to make the whole trip, I'd keep going up to the top of Nevada Falls, because, well... maybe I wanted to see if I could do it.  It's the trail that would take the really fit hiker to the Top of Half Dome.  But hey...just making it to the top of Nevada Falls fills one with a sense of accomplishment and many great vistas.  Beyond Vernal Falls Bridge is probably NOT for kids under 10 though...or over 70.

I hope, dear reader, that we'll be making one of these walks together this Fall 2010.

#5 Post Dining options in Yosemite Valley

I'd like to provide an overview, then maybe a template, for family visiting Yosemite Valley to be together, with the idea that from time-to-time you might get HUNGRY!

There are a number of eating options in the Valley; some that don't require reservations and others that do.  A general listing includes:

Curry Village - The Pavilion - Buffet style causal dinning, breakfast lunch and dinner.  Located at Curry Village.  Not exactly 'gourmet', but passable & affordable.  Kid friendly menu. Also available in the same area is a bar, a Taqueria, Pizza Deck and small general store.  It's proximate to Curry Tent Camps is a big feature. I hear it's gotten better....we'll see.

Yosemite Village Restaurants - This is a short free bus ride away (maybe a mile or so) from Curry Village. Includes a deli and cafe.  It's in a cluster of shops with Grocery near by.

Mountain Room - Requires a reservation.  Can have a fairly long wait.  Decent food.  More expensive than the other options listed above.  Definitely a more adult experience.  Grandfather ABC Dohrmann was mentioned on the back of the menu once; maybe still is.  Located near Yosemite Lodge...a bus ride from Curry Village or the Ahwahnee.

Ahwahnee Dining Room - This choice is the most expensive.  Reservations suggested, casual dress discouraged, except for breakfast and lunch.  A great dining experience.  There is also the option of food in the bar.  More limited menu.  Feature is the Grandfather appears in a photo in the bar.  You can walk here from Curry Village, or take the shuttle bus.

Group Dining plans?  Regarding the whole experience of having a group gathering here I might suggest (were I planning this) that the group think about dinner together on the 

• 1st night at the Pavilion at Curry Village, because it's easy and people can wander in and out.  Then the ...

• 2nd night's dinner might be whatever any family might want to do in whatever arrangement they might wish to make on their own.  Then the ...

• 3rd night, which may be the last night that the group is together, might be either at the Mt. Room or the Ahwahnee.

  Regardless of how the group would like to do this I might suggest a breakfast on the 2nd or 3rd day together at the Ahwahnee Hotel.  It's a very special place.  

  If anyone wants to take a drive up to Wawona Hotel and maybe see the Big Trees Grove then maybe Wawona would make a great lunch stop on the way to the Grove, or on the way back, if you leave early enough.

 Next article:  some of my favorite hikes in Yosemite Valley, and a few places every visitor MUST see.

#4 The Firefall

If you're younger than me (and most everybody IS these days) you won't remember the Yosemite Firefall.  It was a 'crass piece of commercialism' to promote the Valley in it's early years.  And it was AMAZING. Faded out then came back, only to have it's last show in 1968, I believe.  I saw the next to the last one, and many more before that.

If you stand at Camp Curry, in a clearing or the apple orchard, or the meadow near the Ahawhee Hotel and look up to Glacier Point over 1,800 feet up and you know where to look you can still see the point where the event made it's fall down the cliff to the rocks below.

Things would begin with the rangers up at Glacier Point and those down at Camp Curry hosting a sing along round the camp fire event around when the evening light was just starting to get flat.  By the time it because pitch dark the camp fire above was a glowing sea of bright red embers.

Rangers from Curry would  call up to Glacier with a bull horn a ceremonious age old dialog, previewing what was about to happen.  On signal, the rangers at Glacier would use two large metal rakes with flat front ends to push the entire camp fire to the edge of the cliff, then off...!

Down they would come, the action of the updraft fanning the embers red hot, and making a fire-fall of flame to a ledge just above Camp Curry.  Its was a sight to behold...  truly amazing! 

People who witnessed it still write of it here...  Yosemite Firefall  I've written their myself quite a few years back.

#3 Post Its Beautiful there....

When I was a teenager I remember returning to Yosemite with my dad and brothers (Missy, I think you weren’t there).  Though where we stayed that night is lost in time and the fog of other memories, I have one scene etched in my gray matter…often coming back to me.

We arrived on the Valley floor, in the dead of night, all of us exhausted and quick to bed down.  That morning when I awoke, still sleepy I left the trees for the parking lot near the Yosemite Lodges to find my toothbrush in the trailer.  I got 4 car lengths into the lot before I opened my eyes all the way and looked up.  The view of the rim of the Valley took my breath away.  I’d seen it a million times before and again, like a wack in the gut the sight struck left me gasping (well, almost).  The point is, it’s beautiful there folks.  Always has been, always will be.

#2 Post ... It'll make more sense if you read the 1st one, too...

SO I got excited and immediately put up another post just to explain a little more about how this MIGHT come off.

I've put links on the right that let you explore the rooming/lodging accommodations available right on the Valley Floor. You won't want to stay at Wawona or off the floor of the park unless you WANT to be isolated from your 'family'. Campsites aren't mentioned, but of course they may be preferred by some and plenty close by. The ideal in a reunion gathering would be if all 'Campers' stayed in the same vicinity and Curry Village works best for a large group.  It's rustic, but manageable, and for those that demand it there are even cabins at Curry that have private toilets and showers...Imagine!

Yosemite lodge, and for the 'cash-flush-rustic-adverse', the Ahwahnee are there too, but again the main thing is that we get to see each other and swap family gossip... In many cases meeting for the first time.

Another post will get into eating in the valley.  Some might want to do that.

#1 Post ... Ok so just kicking this off....

This is the first in what will be a string of posts as we TRY to get the ABC Dohrmann Extended Clan into Yosemite Park for a 'reunion' in late Summer 2011.  Some are aware of this adventure, others need to be told.  If you consider yourself family then spread the word.

Responses to posts can be left here.  Over time I'll even invite you all to add pictures and write articles of experiences in Yosemite from years past.  It'll be fun to read them.  I plan to tell all I know about the Dohrmanns' in Yosemite; then those that know better can correct me.  But your more recent stories are just as welcome.

My major hope is to raise enthusiasm for a gathering of Dohrmann's near and far.  So that the largest number can participate all you need to do is express interest.  If later something comes up, no worries....you'll ALWAYS be in charge of your own destiny and reservation...when and if we get to that point.

I'm envisioning this happening some where near mid to late August, with some maybe most staying at the tent camps at Curry Village.  Curry is family friendly, with up to 4 bunks in a tent, and indoor flush toilets/showers just a short walk from the tents.

Hey a LOT more about this later but for now lets get the buzz going.  Facebook this site, or tweet it or just email the link or, god knows you could even call somebody to let 'em know. 

See you back here soon.

Oh and look for the link to become a follower/subscriber to this site so that when new posts go up you get the word.




Mark D.

What's it all about...

So I'm building this site to communicate to family, but to a larger audience as well, how a group might gather in Yosemite Valley.

Most of all, though, I want family to find a way to plan and accomplish a gathering at, say, Curry Village that might be an ABC Dohrmann family reunion of sorts.  Curry Village is a rustic experience and in keeping with what many first knew of the Park back when ABC was backing and operating the Yosemite Park Company and running into some amount of conflict with the Curry family while doing it.  I suspect there are so many family stories that might be shared in a gathering in the Valley.

It's an interactive site, that friends and family might share their thoughts about a gathering, but also a place to capture memories of past visits... a sharing.  Please be a follower to the site, dear family, that you might be notified when one of us leaves a thought here.  I'll be the curator, but you must be the contributors.

We all wait to hear what you have to share.

Mark Dohrmann

PS:  To follow just click on the follow button on the right side of the site.