We found an understated bit of queer history on our way to Yosemite National Park, in the Groveland museum.
During the gold rush, James Chaffee and Jason Chamberlain built a house and lived together for decades as partners, planting an orchard, selling crops to travelers, and panning for gold.
The quote under the photo read: “We came to Second Garrotte, which consists of a few scattered houses. There while resting under the shade of some oak trees, we were overtaken by an old gentleman. He told us that right here was the best camping place on the road. He led the way into an orchard of apple and pear trees, in a peaceful little valley encircled by hills covered with pines and oaks. He and his old partner (Chaffee and Chamberlain) had lived here for forty years and keep their place neat as wax, and the Century, Californian, and other well-known periodicals are on their table.” — Jessie Heaton Parkinson
It’s really beautiful here in Yosemite National Park. Yosemite is one of the most popular national parks in the US, so, some of the challenge is to find enjoyable activities off the beaten path.
If you walk up the Mist Trail to Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls in the summer, you may find yourself in a thick swarm of people clambering up the slippery stone staircase. But up in Tuolumne Meadows, if you walk out onto Pothole Dome, you may feel like the only person around for miles.
