Destination Thanksgiving in Yosemite

Since neither of our families were having a traditional Thanksgiving celebration, M and I made a last-minute decision to do a destination Thanksgiving in Yosemite. It had been nearly two months since our last visit and I was eager to see what the park offered during the holidays.

Because of the short notice, I wasn’t able to reserve any of the park's heated units, but I managed to book an unheated tent cabin in Curry Village. With nightly lows dipping below 30 degrees Fahrenheit, it wasn't ideal, but it gave us a chance to see how our sleeping bags (both rated for 15 degrees) withstood the cold.

We reached the park around one o'clock on Thursday. After checking in and unloading the car, I tried to make dinner reservations at Yosemite Lodge's Mountain Room over the phone. They told me I needed to reserve a table in person at the restaurant, so we took a shuttle to the lodge.

Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed. A sign on the door said to call a different number for reservations. This call was more successful. They told me they were booked, but they might be able to squeeze a party of two in at 8:15. I took it.

As we were heading outside, I saw a sign advertising free movie screenings at the Lodge's Cliff Room. They were showing Transformers and Ratatouille over the Thanksgiving weekend.

"Transformers is a profound holiday choice," I told M. "Deep down, it's a movie trying to remind us to be thankful for what we have, because at any given moment, warring alien robots with the ability to transform into anything they want could come and take it all away from us." She just looked at me and shook her head.

After grabbing lunch from Degnan's Deli (my favorite eatery in the park), we returned to see Ratatouille.

I'm going to pause here and say I'm sure somebody is thinking, "Why would you spend ninety minutes in a dark room, watching a movie, when you're in a beautiful place like Yosemite? Shouldn't you be outside, exploring and seeing the sights?"

My initial response is a guilt-ridden, "Yes, you're right." My ultimate response, though, is, "I'm grateful to be living as close as I do to Yosemite that I don't feel like I'm missing out on something or wasting time if I'm not out spending every second of daylight seeing the sights."

I'm sorry for being so defensive. Opinionated hypothetical people aggravate me.

After watching the movie (and falling in love with it again), my stomach was growling. (Who knew digital food could look so delectable?) Our tentative reservations were more than two hours away and I didn't think I could make it.

Without mincing words, I told M, "I don't think I can make it."

Luckily, the Mountain Room Lounge was serving a Thanksgiving meal that didn't require reservations and it was right next door to the Cliff Room. For twenty dollars, the meal included turkey with cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, vegetables, and pumpkin pie.

It wasn't as elaborate as the multi-course feasts at Ahwahnee, Wawona, and Mountain Room ($86, $32, and $28 a person, respectively), but it was in the spirit of the holiday and closer to our price range.

The Lounge was packed, but we found a table quickly. The service was fair and the food was only standard (the turkey was on the dry side), but it was still a pleasant Thanksgiving experience. (I was particularly impressed with the Swedish fireplace in the center of the room.)

Afterwards, we caught a shuttle back to Curry. I showered in the newly remodeled shower house where the water was actually hot (such a luxury). Clean and warm, I raced back to the tent cabin and hopped into my sleeping bag, which did a fine job of keeping me cozy during the cold, cold night.

When I awoke the next morning, I felt fully rested and ready to hike to Dewey Point.