Tuolumne Meadows - Soda Springs and Parson's Lodge

Our next stop in Tuolumne Meadows was Soda Springs and Parson’s Lodge which situated in close proximity.


We parked our car and walked a short distance to the trail head, and started our short half a mile hike on a dirt road toward the Soda Springs. The road wind itself around beautiful green meadows with lots of trees. 

 we saw squirrels and Ground Hog running near the trail. 

 We crossed a nice stone bridge that span over the creek and arrived at the Soda Springs which is bubbling cold carbonated water out of the ground.

This springs percolating carbonated water up from nowhere and the bulk of them have been corralled inside the log enclosure.

We made our way to the log enclosure and watched bubbles appear before our unbelieving eyes! We even saw a woman filling up a foam cup with that carbonated water and drink it. We weren’t sure we can drink this water, but she told us it’s safe to drink and very healthy too (Later on we found out she was right.)

This carbonated water is very rich in iron, and it made the stone and puddles look red which turn the whole area to an artistic beauty.

 Just a few feet above those springs sit Parson’s Memorial Lodge, an interesting structure.The walls are rubble masonry with a concrete core, using local pink feldspar and gray granite, bedded with deeply raked mortar joints, and tapering from three feet at their base to two feet at the top. The door is arched with heavy stonework. The low-pitched roof is

framed with peeled log rafters, about 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter with interior and exterior log braces resting on low buttresses projecting from the walls on the east and west sides. The rafters are similar to the vigas found in American Southwestern architecture. Smaller peeled logs analogous to latias rest on top of the rafter logs, running perpendicular, topped by roofing paper and a galvanized metal top surface. The interior features a massive fireplace on the north wall opposite the entrance. There are two windows with benches below them inn the east, west and south walls.(References:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsons_Memorial_Lodge#cite_note-harrisonnhl1-3)

It was built in 1915 by the Sierra Club as a memorial to Edward Taylor Parson who was a member and later on the club’s director from 1905 to 1914 when he died.

This lodge was built originally as a meeting place and reading room. It was also used as a refuge from afternoon thunderstorms and a center for exhibits and special programs.