1995_04 Insight April 1995

              SPring Break 1995
APRIL 5,1995 ^J        *^ ^^ PAG
Yosemite welcomes
spring break visitors
♦ Park has a lot to offer, if you 're
willing to make two-hour drive
By Russ T. Gee
StaffWriler
Wake and drive are the first things that come
to mind when the alarm clock rings at 3 a.m.
Eat cereal, brush teeth, put on a hat.
The '83 Nissan warms up and the CD player
spins. Fresh coffee is in the Thermos. The
first stop is Chevron to fuel up, then by an
ATM for some cash and onward for a two-
hour drive.
By 3:58, thc two lanes have merged into one,
not a car in sight. The yellow dashes on the
road pass by at 60 mph. Jimmy Buffet sings
"Margaritavillc," and the heater blows warm
Stop for a moment at thc vacant toll booth,
4:58, then it's time to drive on, being cautious of water and possible ice.
The sky begins to change from the black
ceiling it was to light blue, reflected by the
patches of shallow snow alongside the road.
There is still enough time.
Among the bare trees scattered along the
hillside, victims of a fire that swept past
several years ago, the needles of newer
pines are illuminated by the ambient morning light.
The mountain peaks are accented by the
light from the east and the shadows that fall
on the west side of the valley. It's still cold
out.
At 5:51 it comes into sight. The blue Scntra
rolls to a stop. It's time to pour a cup of coffee and watch nature at work.
Sunlight oudines a snow-capped Half Dome,
leaving its face dark gray except for the darker
spots of melted snow that tear down the piece
of granite.
The light crosses the valley to strike against
El Capitan, reflecting a warm orange hue into
the shaded valley floor.
The sounds of the wind blowing cold off
the snow left in the park, the water rushing
over cliffs and crashing onto the eroding granite below, and the faint chirping of birds fill
the morning air.
Yosemitc National Park welcomes its visitors.
"I would love to go to Yosemite over spring
break. The mountains are gorgeous," said 22-
year-old Kathy Roth.
She's not yet sure of her spring break plans,
but the construction management major says
Yosemite is "a good idea."
"There is still snow on the mountains, fresh
air, green trees. I could go hiking."
The park sees an increase of guests in ihe
spring.
"We get a lot of visitors coming out to see the
falls from spring break to Memorial Day," said
Debi Drake of the Yosemite public information office.
Drake expects this season's high snow pack
to keep the valley's water falls flowing strong
until August.
"Water related accidents are a major concern for us," said the CSUF graduate.
"When the snow pack melts, it creates swift
waters and people need to be cautious of that.
If someone falls in, hypothermia can set in
quickly."
Hypothermia, when the body loses heat
faster than it can produce it. and drowning
are the inherent dangers park authorities warn
people about when ihey are around the falls,
especially in the spring.
Keeping wildlife wild is another concern.
"People need to respect the environment,"
Drake said, "respecting the animals and ihcir
habitat."
Squirrels and deer are becoming more aggressive after being fed by visitors unaware
of what they're doing to wildlife.
Food should be stored properly to avoid
problems with animals, especially bears.
"Bears are very smart," Drake said.
"They know what to look for, they have
an incredible sense of smell and they can
bend down the door and open your car like
a can opener does a can."
Thc park provides information for preventative ways to store food when camping.
In addition to the wildlife, Yosemite suffers
from problems any city has.
"Alcohol violations, alcohol and driving.
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vehicle thefts and moving violations increase
when thc park gels more crowded," said Valley District Ranger Don Coclho.
Coclho supervises thc rangers, the park's law
enforcement department.
"The problems increase around spring break
and continue into the summer," Coelho said.
Being its own city, Yosemite also has a jail
and courthouse.
Coclho recommends visitors act responsibly by realizing all laws are still in effect in
the park.
Despite problems, more than 4 million
people visited lhc park last year.
The valley offers camping, biking, horseback riding, tours and hiking. Hikers should
be prepared to encounter snow.
"Backpackers need to be winter-weather
wise," Drake said, "including extra food, water, a waterproof top layer and telling people
where you're going."
Highway 41 leads right into thc valley.
Roth said the park's proximity to Fresno is
a plus.
"In just two hours, you can be in Yosemitc,
the most gorgeous place in thc world."
Photo by Russ T.
Mirror lake reflects North Dome, Indian rock and Mt. Watkins (top). Backpackers hike up the John Muir trail towards Vernal Falls.
Students swarm San Felipe
as top choice for vacation
•f GET Travel offers
students an opportunity to
head south for warm
weather and blue waters
By Casey Angle
StaffWriler
Spring break is here, and
swarms of CSUF students
will be heading south of
the border.
The hot spot for this
year's break is San Felipe,
Mexico.
In the past. West Coast
college students have taken
their partying down to
Palm Springs, San Diego
and Lake Havasu. But San e^'
Felipe, located four and a
half hours south of San Diego, has quickly become a
popular spot
"There's only so many
places: Lake Havasu.
Florida and Texas. Califor-
nians are pretty limited as
to where they can go," said
Paul WaUin of GET Travel,
the Irvine agency that is putting together San Felipe travel packages for
all the CSU schools.
"In the last few years San Felipe has
come on really strong."
What is it about this modest Baja
California town that makes more
than 2.000 students anxious to visit
it?
"The location is perfect, the
weather's great, and it's a cheap town
to go party in," Wallin said, summing
up the allure.
CSUF senior Rod Vilas spent his
break in San Felipe two years ago
and is heading down there again
this year.
I had a good time. 1 thought it was
great," Vilas said.
Vilas said lhc best place to go to
enjoy the San Felipe night life is
Rockadiles. Other popular spots are
Beach Comber. Plaza Bar and the
Club Miramar.
Cristy Tharpe. GET Travel's CSUF
student organizer has helped about
150 students with reservations
for the break. She said Fresno
State, San Diego State and
Chico State will bring the
most vacationers and everyone will stay at either the Cosa
Azul or the Los Missiones hotels. Both are centrally located.
But spring breakers need to
remember a few things before
they visit our neighbors to the
south.
First, it's a good idea to get
car insurance prior to entering
Mexico.
Second, bringing traveler's
checks isn't a bad idea either.
Banks can be a bit of a pain
down there.
Third, around $200 should
be enough spending money
for the four-day trip.
Finally, Vilas offers some advice:
"Bring some bottled water. You're
going to need it in the mornings."
Books are tossed out
the door as collegiates
spring for 1995 break
n along
By Denise Dawson
StaffWriler
Sun-baked bodies sir
the shore.
Empty beer cans washing onto the
beach.
Occasional groans escaping beer-
logged brains regretting last night's
boozc-fesi.
Spring break is here again.
Every year it's the same question:
"Where do we go for spring
break?"
Several answers keep coming up.
Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarla,
Cancun. Cabo San Lucas, San
Felipe, Lake Havasu and Waikiki.
"The No. 1 hot spot this year is
Mexico." said Carole Osborne,
travel agenl for Let's Go Travel.
"For college students. Mexico
seems to be it this year, with Hawaii coming up a close second."
The reason for Mexico's popularity? It's cheap.
If planned early enough, great
prices were popping up everywhere. But for last-minute planners, the deals have run out.
"I called several travel agents
two weeks ago trying to find
some good deals for trips to
Mazatlan, but I guess I waited to
call too long because the prices
they kept quoting me were outrageous," said senior Angelo
Prato. "Five of us were going to
head down to Mexico for the
week, but I guess we'll try and
head to Lake Havasu instead."
"Spring break is one of our busiest seasons of the year. Kids usually stan calling right around the
beginning of the school year and
keep on calling right up to spring
break," said Vema McNemar, travel
agent for Valley Travel Center.
With so many places to choose
from, it's hard to pick just the right
one. The popularity of places changes
constantly from year to year.
"When I was a freshman here
four years ago, one of the hottest
spots to go was Palm Springs.
Now it's changed to Mexico. Who
knows where it will be next year,"
said liberal studies major
Danielle Winkler.
"Palm Springs isn't big anymore. I
don't think we've had any calls for it
this year,"said Kelly Martinez, travel
agent for All About Travel.
"For those who can afford it. Ha
waii is a big seller, and for those
wilh a slightly less disposable income, Mexico is the place to go,"
Martinez said.
Although it may vary from year
to year, there is still no doubt of
what spring break is all about:
blowing off Fresno and heading for
ihe beach, babes and beer.
"Even if I can only go to Santa
Cruz this year, I don't care just as
long as we can get out of town and
go to where there's a beach,"
Winkler said.