This time it was an adventure for the whole family! We got to participate in the "Yosemite Environmental Living Program" where Sierra's entire class of 4th and 5th graders (as well as Deven and a few of us adult chaperons) went to the Pioneer Yosemite History Center Village in Yosemite National Park to live as the settlers did in the 1850's. We were all given names of actual people from the time to research and portray while we were there.
Harv and I were Alex & Catherine Black who owned and ran the Black Hotel, (also called the Lower Hotel) one of the 1st hotels in Yosemite.
Deven was Dr. Lafayette Bunnell, part of the "Mariposa Battalion" who were the 1st people (other than Indians) to enter the valley. He was also credited with naming it "Yosemite".
Sierra was Lady Constance Frederica Gordon Cummings, a rich artisan who was famous for her books of watercolor paintings of Yosemite.
We dressed the part, cooked on the wood stove, chopped the wood, as well as carried buckets of water that we pumped from the well for drinking, cooking and dishes. We did crafts from the time period, made a triangle dinner bell from steel at the blacksmith forge, learned what it was like to be a stagecoach driver and got to take a ride in one! We then topped the night off with a barn dance before retiring to the log cabins to sleep on the floor in sleeping bags.We made a hearty breakfast in the early morning and after cleaning up we had a town meeting to discuss how the different groups of people felt Yosemite should change (or not). The hardest part was the set up the adults did to keep the illusion of 1850 alive. Everything (such as milk, butter, bread, spices, etc.) had to be taken from it's original packaging and put into metal pitchers, mason jars, and baskets. Refrigerated items had to be stored in wooden barrels with blocks of ice to keep it cold.
We got home exhausted, filthy, and looking forward to our 2008 version of pizza, a shower, and a warm bed. What an adventure!
