New Park Place

FISH CAMP, Calif. — Settling into the 103-degree waters, I felt humbled knowing I was one of the first visitors in Yosemite’s history to repose in this particular pool. I was certain the waters were 103 degrees because a sign said so, right next to another notice that said, “NO LIFEGUARD ON DUTY.”

Truth be told, this was not a natural pool that I was exploring but a spa at the new Apple Tree Inn, which opened in August among towering pines about two miles from the southern entrance to the park.

We (my wife, Tia, and our two children) were attempting the impossible, taking in Yosemite on a three-day, two-night, late-October visit. But it seemed an ideal time of year: post-summer, meaning fewer drivers; pre-winter, meaning no snow chains. It was my first visit to Yosemite, ending a 43-year self-imposed ban after the humiliation of pronouncing the name of the place YOZ-MITE in a fourth-grade class.

From L.A., we had made an unhurried, five-hour drive up Interstate 5 and California 99 to Fresno, then turned on to California 41 for the hourlong trip to our lodge in Fish Camp, an old logging community. It being late fall, the leaves on the dogwoods, sugar maples and black oaks were ablaze in oranges and reds and golds. Our daughter Sarah, age 9, was not too young to appreciate the sights. “Look, Mom,” she chirped, “a satellite dish.”

We had chosen the Apple Tree because its introductory, off-season rates were a comparatively cheap $89 per weeknight for a family of four, including a free breakfast. (Although the introductory rate has expired, the inn is offering a Yosemite Park Package for $89 plus tax, Sunday through Thursday, $109 Friday and Saturday, plus breakfast and park pass, with some conditions and restrictions.)

A collection of two-story, three-unit yellow wooden cabins (54 units) that seemed to have landed in the middle of a forest, the inn proved a delight. Our room had a fireplace, a deck, a TV and VCR, microwave and refrigerator. And there were two indoor pools and a racquetball court. Not exactly roughing it. But I considered this a reconnaissance mission. Next time we’d camp on a ledge of El Capitan.

The lodge also was well-located for kids, a few hundred yards from a $5-per-hour mountain-bike rental at the Tenaya Lodge, a quarter-mile from the Yosemite Trails horse-riding outfit, and two miles from the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad, a vintage logging locomotive on a narrow gauge line.

But those attractions were for later. Besides, I was slightly disoriented by the pine-scented air and bright blue sky. After soaking in the pools, we hunted down food at the somewhat pricey Tenaya Lodge restaurant. We passed up Tenaya’s nightly flashlight hike (open to guests and non-guests alike at $5 per person), instead walking back to our room on a short trail through pitch darkness.

Our freebie breakfast the next morning consisted not of the usual continental-type serving of sweet rolls but a buffet of cereal, eggs, hot cakes and fruit. We took a table near a window with a view that was virtually filled by the trunk of a towering Ponderosa pine. After eating, we set out on the drive to Yosemite. Traffic was light and there was no line at the entrance, where we paid $20 for a pass (good for seven days). I was ready to pronounce Yosemite correctly if the guard asked.

We entered the Wawona Tunnel and emerged at Tunnel View (or Inspiration Point). Here, suddenly, was the first panoramic view of Yosemite Valley . . . El Capitan, Half Dome and the other granite monoliths standing at attention. No photo could convey the power of the sight.

Tearing ourselves away, we set off down the road. On another turnout, we parked and made the short walk to a point near the base of misty Bridalveil Fall, where water cascades 600 feet from a hanging valley. The idyllic scene was jarred slightly by a toddler in a carriage, who yelled, “Turn off the water!”

Next, we stopped at the Yosemite Visitors Center to pick up brochures and study some park exhibits, then ducked into a nearby park eatery, Degnan’s Pizza, where we had a fine, moderately priced lunch (and heard one woman ask--no kidding--”Do you have latte?”).

We boarded the Valley Floor Tour, an entertaining, two-hour, 26-mile tram ride ($17 for adults, $9 for kids age 5-12). The quips of John, our able guide, sounded even funnier because he was extolling the natural wonders of Yosemite in an accent that was either New Yorkese or Chicagoese--we couldn’t decide.

Passing El Capitan, he advised us to look for tiny patches of color on its sheer 3,593-foot wall. Those, he said, were climbers. The highlight was John’s suggestion on one curve that we turn around and watch as the fractured profile of Half Dome suddenly appeared above the forest and rose taller and taller. It was better than any Hollywood special effect.

*

The next morning, back in Fish Camp, we made the short drive down California 41 to the Sugar Pine Railroad Depot. The steam engine was out of service until next spring, but a smaller jenny rail car was available ($6.75 for adults, $3.75 for children). A Model A engine supplied the power and it was no kiddie ride, offering some jolts as we tunneled through the forest on the 30-minute jaunt.

From the station, we found a short dirt road off California 41 that took us to the Yosemite Trails Pack Station. For $25 each, my wife and daughter rented a couple of mild-mannered horses for an escorted, hourlong walk through the backwoods. Jamie, donning a helmet, was put aboard a beginner’s pony ($10 for a half hour).

Back in our 140-horsepower vehicle, we left Fish Camp with a coupon from the Apple Tree offering various discounts for our next visit. I asked Jamie which of Yosemite’s wonders was his favorite. “The pool,” he replied.

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Budget for Four

Apple Tree Inn, 2 nights: $195.00

Yosemite Park entry: 20.00

Jenny Trolley tour: 21.00

Horseback riding: 60.00

Tram tour: 43.00

2 lunches, Degnan’s Pizza, KFC: 37.38

2 dinners, Tenaya Lodge: 86.18

Gas: 48.00

FINAL TAB: $510.56

Apple Tree Inn, 1110 Highway 41, Fish Camp, CA 93623; tel. (888) 683-5111.