Lance W. Johnson: Being introduced to Yosemite can change your life

Re “Program introduces Merced kids to Yosemite” (Page 1A, March 24): I very much enjoyed reading (online) the Sun-Star’s article. From personal experience, I know such trips provide life memories and learning experiences. As a kid growing up in Fresno in the 1950s, it wasn’t unusual for my mom, on a Saturday morning, to say “let’s pack a picnic lunch and go to Yosemite” or “the Big Trees” or just “the mountains.” And shortly we’d head out for a day, absorbing the grandeur and the tranquility and learning about our local national parks and mountains.

I recall those trips well, nearly seven decades later. Spreading out our blanket and eating lunch along the Merced River near Wawona, where my dad taught me how to fly fish at age 6 or at the base of Yosemite’s waterfalls, surrounded by the grandeur of Yosemite Valley and being awed by the groves of “big trees” in Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks. All are irreplaceable and unequaled life experiences that kids learn from and never forget. For many it will open new horizons and change their lives.

This story was originally published March 28, 2016 at 12:46 PM with the headline "Lance W. Johnson: Being introduced to Yosemite can change your life."