Yosemite National Park postal card

If you read the Philosateleian Post Horn, you found out earlier this month that my wife Sarah and I made a trip out to California in September. One of the places we visited during our time there was Yosemite National Park. It fulfilled a long-held dream for me, and given the chance, I would go back again in a heartbeat. I’m not even sure how to put into words the beauty of that area as a whole, and Yosemite Valley in particular.

We spent most of our time staring at the incredible scenery, but being a stamp collector, I also had to seek out the Yosemite Village post office. I had this postal card postmarked there.

As you can see, this is the 28¢ Yosemite National Park postal card from the first Scenic American Landscapes postal card booklet. To make up the additional postage required, I used the 5¢ John Muir stamp issued in 1964.

There are two markings in green on the left side of the postal card. The first is a dated stamp that reads “Yosemite National Park/Yosemite Valley.” Both this marking and the one below it—a round image depicting Half Dome and reading “Yosemite National Park”—were available at the visitor center in Yosemite Village. They’re intended for use primarily by visitors who can purchase a little book to get stamped at each of the nation’s national parks, but they also provided a nice cachet for my card.

I’ll post more about the philatelic highlights of our trip to Yosemite later.

Published 2013-10-20