As a couple that gave up pretty much everything (house, job, community, most possessions, etc.) to follow a dream, we are always on the lookout for our tribe. We scoured the globe for badass traveling duos to share their favorite place and piece of advice in our book Ultimate Journeys for Two<\/a><\/em>. We\u2019ve made a point to pen-pal and wine-Zoom with like-minded couples we\u2019ve met in Argentina, Norway, Slovenia, Costa Rica, and other far-off places to keep that sense of community in our nomadic lives. Pairs like this can be hard to come by, but somehow when we came to Mariposa County, we met inspiring couples left and right\u2026a pair of advertising execs that ditched it all for a cider apple farm\u2026health care professionals who decided they\u2019d rather be restoring forgotten vineyards\u2026San Francisco night club owners who decided to bring music and community to a ghost town. We were originally planning to write a traditional guide on the best things to do around Yosemite, but something bigger seemed to be brewing behind the places to stay, eat, and explore. It\u2019s the heart in these small businesses that makes them must-see destinations. Meet these creative couples and discover the best of Yosemite Nation. Travel Tip:<\/strong> Don\u2019t miss the Mariposa Museum\u2019s outdoor exhibits, which include a massive stamp mill, a working blacksmith shop, and the original Mariposa Gazette offices from 1854\u2014California\u2019s longest running weekly newspaper. (Check out this article they wrote about us<\/a>). Travel Tip:<\/strong> In other fun facts, ask Travis about the days when the building had an upstairs brothel and a tunnel system that went to the mines and a 150-year-old Catholic church. This place is full of amazing stories! And when it comes to enjoying the best of their cuisine, score a Tuesday reservation for their weekly Omakase dinner and wine pairing. Travel Tip<\/strong>: For an insider experience, book a private tasting and orchard tour<\/a> on Airbnb Experiences, or better yet stay overnight in their Barn Loft<\/a> to have the place to yourself any day of the week! Travel Tip<\/strong>: You can join Mariposa Trails most Wednesdays and Saturdays for these rewarding trail-maintenance hikes. Check out their volunteer work schedule and multi-day adventures with these Yosemite insiders<\/a>. Travel Tip:<\/strong> To shake the crowds and enjoy old-growth forest, hike the Guardian\u2019s Loop trail above the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias and take the time to drive California\u2019s highest highway, Tioga Pass, for incredible mountain views and the stunning Tenaya Lake.
\u00a0<\/p>\nMariposa Museum: John & Jessie<\/h2>\n
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Heading to the local museum is always a good way to understand a new place\u2014and Mariposa\u2019s just happens to be the Smithsonian\u2019s pick for \u201cBest Little Museum in the West.\u201d Walking into the Mariposa Museum and History Center<\/a>, we were transported to a 19th-century general store selling provisions for gold miners and homesteaders, followed by a Miwok Native American dwelling covered in cedar bark, and rich California history at every turn. Our guide Chris walked us through Mariposa\u2019s many eras, from Native American tribes to Spanish settlement to Mexican territory to the gold rush era that transformed California. \u201cThough if there is one family that revolutionized Mariposa, it\u2019s The Fremonts.\u201d John Fremont was an early American explorer of the West and married a politician\u2019s daughter and accomplished writer, Jessie Benton. In the mid 1800s congress funded his survey of the Oregon Trail, the Great Basin, and the Sierra Nevadas and together they authored best-selling travel guides (basically the Lonely Planet for Conestoga Wagons lol) to help the hundreds of thousands voyaging west. The Fremonts got one of the first land grants from Mexico: \u201cLas Mariposas.\u201d As luck would have it, their 40,000 acres would become the heart of gold country. Their wealth and influence earned him a Senate seat and their anti-slavery position helped secure his bid as the first-ever Republican candidate for president. But his allure was always them as a pair, even his political slogan was \u201cFremont and Jessie too.\u201d Forward-thinkers, adventurers, and dynamic duo, John and Jessie are the foundation of the \u201cMother of all Counties.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\nLittle Shop of Ramen & The Local Grape:
Travis & Melissa<\/h2>\n![\"Best](\"https:\/\/www.honeytrek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ramen-local-grape.jpg\")
We walked the main street, admiring the 19th-century buildings, charming shops, and yummy resturants. In the oldest commercial building in Mariposa (est 1849) and below a neon sign that said \u201cGold Coin\u201d was a ramen restaurant and wine bar. It sounded so random, we had to see it for our ourselves. The Little Shop of Ramen<\/a> restaurant was juxtaposed with huge historic murals of early explorers, and floor-to-ceiling racks of California wine. \u201cWill you be joining us for lunch?\u201d said the co-owner Travis. When we saw vegan ramen on the menu with slow-cooked shitake stock, we were sold. Travis went on to explain the wine selection and a bit about The Local Grape<\/a>. He curates the best wine selections from the eight counties that make up the Sierra Foothills AVA and is working on his very own blends with grapes he harvests from forgotten vineyards with the help of Mariposa-born and wine-making rockstar, Michael Moore. Today Travis and his wife Melissa are merging their passion for wine and Japanese home cooking with this restaurant that\u2019s shaking up Central Californian cuisine. \u201cRamen is such a good food for the soul\u2026comfort food,\u201d says Melissa who grew up in a Japanese-American household. \u201cAnd wine,\u201d says Travis, \u201cwell, it makes you smile.\u201d We can\u2019t think of a better combination or a more adorable pair to bring them together.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\nSierra Cider: Dana & David<\/h2>\n
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On a sunny fall day, nothing sounded better than a cider tasting in a century-old apple orchard. The previous owners Beth and Dave Lancaster were quietly picking their 800 apple trees and crafting cider for restaurants for decades but their lovely orchard wasn\u2019t open to the public until they passed the reigns to Dana Tiel and David Bailey in 2021. As a young couple who moved from LA, they\u2019re the first to admit they had a lot to learn about farming. \u201cWe never would have taken over this farm if Dave & Beth weren\u2019t right next door and willing to teach us how to grow apples and make great cider.\u201d\u00a0With a can-do attitude, creative advertising background, and love of event planning, Dana & David turned the brand into the destination cidery it was meant to be. We drove down their tree-lined road and immediately felt those warm and fuzzy fall vibes. Sierra Cider\u2019s<\/a> shipping-container tasting room has been revamped with reclaimed wood walls, a glass garage door, and a roof deck that looks over their 16 acres. Dana and David greeted us like old buddies and offered up a sampler of their fun blends on tap: Sneaky Tiki (rum notes), Breakfast (hint of maple), and Chunky Sweater (mulled spices, ready for the holidays). We took our flight to their patio, decorated with all things fall and pondered which game to play first\u2026giant Jenga, Connect Four, ladder ball, shuffleboard, not to mention, hay rides and the wood-fired pizza oven were about to spark up. Sierra Cider\u2019s tasting room may only be open on Fridays and Saturdays, but when they are\u2026they are throwing it down with food trucks, s\u2019mores roasting, and major events like their Tortured Orchard Halloween Extravaganza. (Follow their Instagram<\/a>, these two are hysterical and clearly having so much fun down on the farm.)<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\nThe Grove House: Nate & Rosalyn<\/h2>\n
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Mariposa on a weekend means awesome acts are playing at The Grove House<\/a>. The owner Nate Pyle grew up in town, went off to college in Arizona, then just as he and his girlfriend Rosalyn were graduating, a commercial space went up for sale in Mariposa. They decided to turn their love of music into a new life together. With their prime location, halfway between the music hubs of LA and San Francisco, the Pyles knew that if they created a stellar space with craft beers and farm-to-table food, they were well positioned to attract solid acts. On top of that, Mariposa yearned for a creative community space. \u201cThis town is full of incredible artists and craftsman,\u201d said Nate. \u201cThey just needed a place to showcase their work, to find each other, and have a gathering place where all are welcome and feel safe to meet and share ideas.\u201d During our night at The Grove House, it was a nice blend of locals and international travelers in hiking boots, gathered around their 16-tap bar and folk musicians playing acoustic and slide guitars. Nate came up to say hi and see how we liked our vegan Squashed Squash Sandwich and the Ted Nunes Band, and we felt right at home.
\u00a0<\/p>\nMariposa Trails: Bill & Beth<\/h2>\n
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After our wild night at the Grove House (and the awesomely divey Hideout Saloon), it was an early morning at the Alder Creek Trailhead. But with Yosemite National Park\u2019s 748,000 acres and the adjacent Sierra National Forest\u2019s 1.3 million acres, Bill King and Beth Kellner of Mariposa Trails<\/a> need as many volunteers as they can get. On the side of the road, they laid out the work tools (hoes, loppers, and extractigators) we would use to tackle the invasive species and trail-crowding trees along the 22-mile trail. Alongside locals, ranging in age from 20 to 70, we slung our tools over our shoulders and walked into a side of the park most tourists never see. Along the way, Bill stopped to point out various \u201ctree blazes,\u201d trail markings from the region\u2019s earliest keepers. We saw a \u201cT\u201d for troops, and Bill took it as an opportunity to give a reading from the area\u2019s early explorers, detailing accounts of the bountiful flora, fauna, and towering peaks of the Sierra Nevadas. He didn\u2019t just bring us out here for the free labor, he wanted us to fall in love with the land. \u201cRestoring trails is a means to building community,\u201d Bill later told me between swinging a hoe. \u201cBeth and I love knitting people together with nature and each other\u2026and we both like getting our hands in the dirt.\u201d Trail maintenance is hard work, but I wasn\u2019t about to slow down seeing this couple on their hands and knees cutting incense cedar saplings (a notorious tinder for forest fires). When lunchtime came, we sat together with mud on our faces, laughing about our battles with deerbrush roots and small victories saving sugar pine saplings. We were no longer a group of lawyers, waitresses, bloggers, and retirees, we were a crew.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\nYosemite National Park: Shelly & Corey<\/h2>\n
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One of our fellow volunteer trail workers was a Yosemite park ranger\u2026who was married to a park ranger! We were so struck by the fact that Shelly and her husband Corey were already dedicating their lives to serving this wilderness area, and yet even on her day off she was doing community service for the park. As we yanked invasive species, she told me about their original dream to get stationed in Yosemite Valley with El Capitan and Half Dome looking over them. Though as fate would have it, she told me, \u201cWe now work and live in Wawona, the most beautiful quiet gem of Yosemite.\u201d This area is the oldest settlement in the park and home to the Yosemite History Center, where cabins of many 19th-century landscape artists and early environmental advocates resided, dozens of gorgeous hikes begin, and not many tourists go. We took her advice to explore Wawona, with a fun riverbed rock scramble up to Chilnualna Falls and a dip in the beautiful Swinging Bridge swimming hole. Instead of spending all our time inside the iconic Valley, we too discovered the serene side of Yosemite. <\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\nSkydive Yosemite: Paul & Julia<\/h2>\n
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I\u2019ve always been on the fence about skydiving, but the chance to take a scenic flight over Yosemite National Park then freefall over this iconic swath of terrain, suddenly made it sound like a great idea. Butterflies were certainly circling around my stomach as we pulled into the Mariposa Airport, but the team at Skydive Yosemite<\/a> has a way of putting people at ease. Co-founders Paul and Julia Wignall met working at Yosemite in 1996 and became friends over their love of adventure sports. Their paths diverged for a few years while Paul toured Europe as a super model, working for the likes of Valentino and Gucci, but he always kept in touch with Julia\u2014who was running her own fashion brand in the States! Destined to be intertwined in life, love, and adventure, they started working in the skydiving industry together and ultimately got married and had kids. When they saw an opportunity to become the first skydiving operation in the Yosemite area, they knew it was meant to be. Julia, who\u2019s the parachute rigger and drop-zone organizer got us ready for takeoff and Paul (who\u2019s done over 9,000 jumps) made sure our instructors and pilot were ready to rock. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t run this operation without each other,\u201d said Paul. Next thing we knew, we were loading into a Cessna and soaring to 14,000 feet (their highest drop zone). We did a sweep of Yosemite Valley to see Half Dome and El Cap in all their glory and get amped for the wild ride ahead. \u201cHow do you want jump?\u201d asked my instructor. \u201cIf you don\u2019t want to look down, you can lock eyes with Mike and we can just backflip out the door.\u201d Sounded sensible enough and out we went, squealing and smiling all the way down. Watch our incredible 60-second freefall over Yosemite, learning to deploy and steer a parachute, and the stoked look on our faces.