Yosemite

Driving across California, we opted to stay outside of Yosemite and drive through in the early morning hours. We hoped to see some wildlife and to avoid the traffic we hit last year while the roads were being worked on. Saw a hawk and pika but not much else. (Molli claims the first siting of the pika). Yosemite is one of the areas that is being closely monitored for changes due to global warming (http://www.nrdc.org/land/parks/globalwarming/yosemite.asp). We saw lots of wildfire damage and this is one of the effects of global warming according to the National Resource Defense

Drier Conditions Fuel the Risk of Severe Wildfires
Scientists predict that global warming will intensify three main causes of wildfires: high temperatures, summer dryness and long-term drought. Researchers tracking climate change have made specific projections for wildfires in the Sierra Nevada, the range that includes Yosemite. They expect that the number of acres burned by wildfires in the region will increase by 50 percent by 2050 and double by 2090.

That may seem like a long time and large number of fires, but if you haven't already enjoyed this National Park, the shear numbers of visitors should cause you to make your plans soon to visit. Next time we go through we will climb the mountain! (they don't allow dogs to hike in the National Parks any longer, so we have been limited in the places we can take her in this park to hike)