Cedar and Oak Cottages

The Hotel had enlarged its capacity by sprinkling cabins throughout the woods. One, the Cedar Cottage, was built around a wonderful big cedar tree with a cozy hearth and happy, intimate atmosphere. The others looked more like the Hotel’s main facility, across the road. Those were the Rock Cottage and an Oak Cottage, each with its own personality. Tourist kids, intimidated at first by the bigness of the Valley sat on boulders and watched the coming and going of wagons and automobiles.

Uncle did not drink or smoke, having come from a White Feather Family, but I watched those alcoholically inclined make their way to the Cosmopolitan and New Saloons to sample the wares and take long soaking baths, that being the specialty of the Cosmopolitan. We washed and showered in our camp bathing tent, which was chilly fun.

Across from us, on the opposite side of the Y, was the Grocery Store. Here we bought provisions to be made up by our cook, who handled the domestic part of the household.
Every summer our Studio was populated by a happy bunch of girls and young women from Berkeley and Stanford, who tinted pictures and enjoyed Yosemite. Some produced amazing work and sold photos they bought from Uncle on their own.

Up the road in the Village, between the Studio and the Cottages of the Hotel, lay residences and the Degnan Restaurant. Most of the ice cream was served up to tourists there.