MWR program offers city-dwelling Soldier valuable exposure to America's breathtaking West

By Spc. Galo Calderon Jr., 361st PAOCAugust 5, 2009

Yosemite MWR trip opens city-dweller's eyes
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Yosemite Park MWR trip opens city-dweller's eyes
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Yosemite National Park MWR trip opens eyes
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HAWTHORNE ARMY DEPOT, Nev. (Aug. 5, 2009) - Aside from the realistic training Golden Cargo exercise offered here in Hawthorne Army Depot, as a photojournalist covering HWAD, I could not resist the abundance of beautiful sites surrounding the installation.

As soon as I heard that some of the Soldiers here were going to Yosemite National Park, Calif., as part of a Morale, Welfare, and Recreation program, I took the opportunity of going also. Born and raised in New York City, I had never been this far West, nor had I ever seen anything quite like it before.

Yosemite is only about two and a half hours away from the depot. The drive itself is quite magical. Each mountain I drove past had its own distinctive features, some even having snow on top in the middle of July.

A couple of mountains had giant letters on their slopes, which are traditionally created by the local high school students. Each is the first letter of their town, for example H for Hawthorne or B for Beatty.

To top it all, as I drove past Hawthorne, an enchanting rainbow appeared in front of me behind the mountains - a wonderful omen to a spectacular journey.

Each town had its own character, its own humble quiet magic to offer. One place felt like it was a ghost town with an old fire truck, dating to the early 1900s, placed on the side of the street as well as an old locomotive.

Tourists stopped by these attractions to take pictures and record their journey. I was smiling to myself, amazed at how tourists can be found literally everywhere.

Nearing Yosemite, some of the trails had sharp inclining and declining slopes that resembled the streets of San Francisco, like I had seen in the movies. As I drove along the trail, I couldn't help but feel the sensation of being on a roller coaster ride. The rush of feeling an instant drop and then a rise again was a treat.

Before I knew it, I was in Yosemite. The view was everything I saw in books when I was a little boy. The mountains, sequoias and waterfalls were breathtaking. There were tourists swimming in the creeks, some tanning upon the rocks.

One main feature in Yosemite is a 'dome' - an oval-shaped, rocky cliff where rock climbers traditionally go to for sport. The sheer size of this dome can be seen from as far as Yosemite's entrance gate.

In addition, I caught glimpses of wildlife. The sight of animals roaming freely, such as the deer and ram, compared to the Bronx Zoo's caged animals, gave me an understanding of how free spirited these animals are in nature.

Yosemite is an immense park. It makes Central Park look like a cockroach. After realizing the enormous size of Yosemite, I knew I couldn't explore everything in just one day.

I interviewed some of the servicemembers who were stationed in HWAD for the Golden Cargo exercise about their experiences during the MWR Yosemite trip, and here are some of the comments they made.

Spc. Benjamin Bechtel, 718th Transportation Battalion, Columbus, Ohio, a computer technician said, "I had lots of fun. I took pictures all over the place. Yosemite is beautiful and we were just having a great of a time and not thinking about work for a change."

"I had the greatest of times. I love being outdoors. I'm from Ohio so everything there is flat. Watching these mountains was simply beautiful. I believe we all deserved to have a little fun after working so hard for the past three weeks. This certainly was a morale booster," said Spc. Krystal Shumm, 718th, a human resource specialist.

Staff Sgt. Daniel Moore, 758th Maintenance Company, Whitehall, Ohio, a training operator said, "I am a forester as a civilian so this is my world. I can't get enough of it. I've been to Yellowstone, but I've never been to Yosemite. Yosemite is definitely different and just as beautiful. As soon as I saw those creeks, I had to jump in. It was cold, but it felt great. I love nature."