Down in the Valley

The LeConte Memorial Lodge has opened for the 2006 season. Built in Yosemite in 1903-04 by the Sierra Club, in honor of geologist Joseph LeConte, the whimsical structure houses a library and interpretive displays that track the contributions of the club to Yosemite National Park, in particular, as well as America's national parks movement and the modern environmental movement in general. 2006 should be a great season. With the heavy snowpack the Sierra Nevada received this year, the park's famous waterfalls promise to be especially spectacular.