Mariposa – Yosemite National Park – Hiking California

Occasionally, I stumble across a place that immediately seems like home.  It just feels right.  Many years ago, Panguitch, Utah became one of those towns which immediately captured my comfort.  On this Yosemite National Park trip, Mariposa, California strikes me the same way.  Mother Lode Lodge is our staging location for Hwy 140 access along the Merced River to hikes in Yosemite Valley.  The accommodation is comfortable, central, friendly and meticulously maintained by the owners.  Mel and I are given the largest room with easy, convenient access at street level.  Near the entrance, there is a Memorial Bench dedicated to Woody, a family man and a CDF fire fighter.  Fire is a by-product of attempting to tame the desert.  It is an ever-present and ominous reality of living here.  Fire crews are ever-present and visible.

The Mother Lode Lodge on the main street of Mariposa, California.

Woody's Bench - placed near the entrance to Mother Lode Lodge. He is Brother to Elissia, Uncle to Alyssa, placed by comrades in Cal Fire.

Cal Fire, also known as CDF – California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is large and by necessity, well-funded, intensely organized and frequently the fragile barrier between life and death.  Mariposa is on the infamous Highway 49 created by the California Gold Rush.  Mariposa County is arguably one of the most influential locations in the development of Northern California along the west edge of the Sierra Nevada Foothills.  The local weekly newspaper is the Mariposa Gazette which has published continuously for more than 150 years.

A hearty, inexpensive breakfast is consumed daily at the nearby Happy Burger Diner.

A walking tour of Mariposa reveals several treasures within easy strolling distance of Mother Lode Lodge.  A short distance south, and a block west, on Bullion Street is the historic jail constructed in 1858 of granite blocks a foot (30.5 cm) thick.  The sturdy structure was designed to discourage escape and to protect prisoners from lynch mobs.  The 1892 fire which ravaged the structure occurred the same year my Father was born and I think of him.  This is part of the original Wild West.

Mariposa County, California - 1858 Old Stone Jail on Bullion Street

A few blocks north along Bullion Street, from the Old Stone Jail, is the stately and historical Mariposa County Courthouse, constructed in 1854.  It is the oldest county courthouse west of the Rockies which is still in continuous use.

The 1854 Mariposa County Courthouse in Mariposa, California, USA

The most striking and famous addition to the Mariposa County Courthouse occurred in 1861 when the cupola and clock were installed.  The total cost, including freight, was $1,130.35.  The bell which weighs 267 lbs bears the mark of Naylor Vickers & Co., 1861 – Sheffield.  The clock has been humming along since then and is still wound by hand today.

Brick vaults for record storage were built beside the courthouse in 1861 and 1891

The vestibule on the south side covers the hand-dug well which supplies water to the courthouse.

Walking the back streets of Mariposa reveals a mixture of modern homes in an eclectic mix of architectural styles, often with a Spanish influence and occasionally interrupted by derelict ruins which must date back to the early years of Mariposa.

Just north of Mother Lode Lodge, on the main street of Mariposa aka Hwy 140 aka Hwy 49 aka the Golden Chain Highway, is the Mariposa Museum and History Center on Jessie Street.  ‘A Community That Forgets Its Past Has No Future’.  Smithsonian Institute calls it “The Best Little Museum of Its Size West of the Mississippi“.  An entire day could easily be spent here touring the exhibits.  I have an hour to investigate the outside displays before my camera batteries give out.  I usually carry spares but my backpack is in the room.

At the entrance to the main building at Mariposa Museum and History Center

The Horizontal Boiler used at the Sweetwater Mine to run a 10 stamp mill.

Freight Wagon used by Teamsters to haul supplies from Merced during Gold Era. Pulled by 14 - 16 mules on a jerk line.

Lumber Wagon and Cedar Log pulled by 8 - 10 oxen. Logs hauled on Mariposa - Yosemite Road from Summet Camp to Clark's Sawmill to cut lumber for the Courthouse.

An u-ma-cha bark house constructed by local Miwuk Indians with acorn grinding holes beside.

The main street of Mariposa is largely composed of well-preserved, early 20th century period architecture supplemented by new structures designed to blend in.  The place has character and exhibits pride in past and present.  At the south end of town, Mariposa Park offers a garden walk and a new monument to the 10th anniversary of September 11 partially composed of steel from the World Trade Center in New York.  I discover a quaint little store tucked away below street level and guarded by trees.  With a name like ‘Chocolate Soup’, it is unlikely to remain a secret very long.  The core of town offers accommodation, a host of gift and souvenir shops and a wide-ranging variety of places to dine.

Red blinds are pulled down in the afternoon to block the hot, California sun.

The 1901 Mariposa Hotel Inn on Mariposa's Main Street

Very near our accommodation at the Mother Lode Lodge there is an unassuming structure called the Charles Street Dinner House.  The outside is well camouflaged and generates little reason to enter.  Daily specials are scribbled on a tiny chalk board near the well-worn entrance.  The inside is an entirely different story.  Decor is clean, tidy, busy, historical and very comfortable.  Mel and I are escorted to a booth.  The food is amazing.

The building was originally the dwelling and office of Dr. Kearney when he moved with his wife, Selena, in 1884, to become the town doctor and to raise their family.  Dr. Kearney died of pneumonia in 1901.  Now, this historic building is a fine restaurant owned by Executive-Chef, Ed Uebner, who purchased the property in 1980 when he brought his family to California from Chicago, Illinois.  His capable second-in-command since 2005 is Bay-Area-trained, gourmet Chef Clarence Tedrow.  The food is wonderful and the service is crisp, friendly and efficient.  Mel and I are impressed.  The Charles Street Dinner House provides us excellent ambience for our final dinner in Mariposa and an outstanding dining experience different but as memorable as Mono Inn Restaurant in Lee Vining, California.

The Charles Street Dinner House on the corner just north of the Mariposa Hotel Inn. Excellent food and service.

Mel and I did not stay up late enough to participate in festivities at Randy’s 49er Pub, but Bett’s Gold Coin Sports Tavern hosted us on several occasions during our 3-day stay in Mariposa.  Our small, two-person table is just to the right, inside the entrance, at a shadow-box window with a sill about a foot in depth.  On the window sill is a pair of women’s suede cowboy boots.  A tag tells they are Bett’s boots.  Mel and I assume they add to the wall paintings and long arm gun collection as part of the owner’s decor.

The square bar is in the center of the large room, with bar stools along the counters.  Tables ring the exterior walls.  I am enjoying bourbon and coke in a tall, cold glass.  It comes to our attention, after several visits, the first drink is always particularly robust.  It makes subsequent drinks easy to justify.  Service is efficient and friendly.  Conversation reveals a very touching story.  Bette has a sister named Linda.  We learn Bette tragically lost her life in an accident several years ago.  She and Linda were close and shared a dream to own a Mariposa meeting place in their home town.  Linda has fulfilled that dream.  Bette’s presence is alive and well here.  The story tugs at my heart-strings.  It is a special place of honor, memory and rugged determination to keep a promise to a beloved sister and friend.  I have a daughter named Linda, and I think of her.

Every day we travel Hwy 140 from Mariposa, along the Merced River, through spectacular desert terrain, past the Merced River Recreation Area Visitor Center at Briceberg, then eventually gain elevation on tightly twisting, paved road into Yosemite Valley.  Along the way, it is obvious there was a road on the other side of Merced River.  Old, abandoned mining buildings and concrete bridge abutments line this ancient route.  It spurs the imagination and beckons to us to find access and walk the old road, now overgrown with vegetation and littered with fallen rock.  Occasionally we see someone walking the old road and wish we were doing the same.

We stop at the Merced River Recreational Area Visitor Center but is closed for the season and will not reopen until the following spring.

Mariposa is place of major historic proportion.  I would welcome the opportunity to return again and build more rich memories.   Please forgive my rambling text but I need to preserve these memories.  The photographs of derelict buildings need to be balanced with photos of the far more prevalent, modern, meticulously maintained homes and gardens.  The picture of the lovely young lady at Bett’s Gold Coin Sports Tavern has been used without her permission.  She was kind and helpful.  I believe she would approve and I will be forgiven.  It was she who shared the story of Linda’s effort to honor the memory of her sister.  We remain humbled.