By Maria Gaura
This story originally appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle

Mariposa, CA (July, 2007) - The monster rockslide that buried the highway linking the town of Mariposa and Yosemite National Park last year brought visions of doom to Mariposa merchants, whose livelihood depends on access to the park. But now that the dust has settled and a one-lane detour has been installed around the slide, tourists and locals are adapting to, and even savoring, the changes the landslide has wrought.

Due to tight turns on the detour, vehicles longer than 28 feet are banned. For merchants, that boils down to three grim words: no tour buses.

For independent travelers, that means: no tour buses! No highway-blocking, diesel-belching, crowd-disgorging tour buses! Yippee!

On a recent weekend trip to Mariposa, my family made two trips up Highway 140 east of town to swim in the Merced River and gaze at the rockslide. There was nary a tour bus nor a Winnebago to be seen, though the local transit agency is still running small shuttles along the route.

We whizzed down the highway, waited no more than 10 minutes at the one-way detour, and had perhaps a dozen cars queue up behind us as we waited.

A road disaster is nothing you would wish on a community, but there is no reason to feel guilty about enjoying a traffic-banishing act of god. Even residents who sympathize with local merchants are giddy at the prospect of several more years of behemoth-free roads (a permanent bypass is expected to take five to seven years).

"I hear this all the time, people saying, 'It sure is great to drive to Yosemite without all the buses,' " said Leroy Radanovich, director of the Yosemite/Mariposa Tourism Bureau. "We were getting about 200 tour buses going through Mariposa during the summer."

While proximity to Yosemite is clearly the town's lifeblood, Mariposa offers plenty of its own attractions. Granted, there's no Half Dome in downtown Mariposa. There are no bears. What you find here is small-town coziness and lots of Sierra sunshine, with none of the claustrophobia of Yosemite in summertime.

Nature is the big attraction, with the Merced River just a 15-minute drive from town. At the Briceburg Visitor Center, 12 miles east of Mariposa, you can head out for a wilderness hike, stake out a fishing hole, go kayaking or jump off a rock into the bracingly cold river.

Briceburg is a favorite haul-out spot for rafting excursions that begin 16 miles upriver, and is also a gateway to the Merced River Recreation Area. An old railroad bridge crosses the Merced at Briceburg, and you can use your car, horse or mountain bike to access miles of riverside trails.

For swimmers who love the water but fear the current, Mariposa's public pool is open daily for recreation and lap swimming. The kids can shred for free at the adjacent city skate park, described as a "sick-ass skate park" with a "gnarly snake run" by the Caliskatz Web site.

For those seeking milder amusements, or just a break from the blazing summer heat, Mariposa has two fine little museums and a warren of unique shops.

 The Mariposa Museum and History Center holds a bonanza of Gold Rush artifacts, many of them donated by local pioneer families.

We particularly loved the barbed-wire collection, and the cast-iron ball-and-chain with leg shackles used as a doorstop. The museum compound holds the former office of the weekly Mariposa Gazette, which has been published continuously since 1854.

Two miles out of town on Highway 49 stands the California State Mineral and Mining Museum, and California's official mineral collection, begun in 1860. The displays are amazing, particularly the glowing phosphorescent rocks, and a meteorite that was witnessed falling from the sky by a Native American chief.

Also worth a visit is the Mariposa County Courthouse which, like the Gazette, has been in continuous operation since 1854. The building holds its original seats, tables and judge's bench, and an English-made clock that has chimed the hours since it was installed in 1866.

The tiny downtown is great for browsing, with antiques, curio shops, art galleries and, as of Memorial Day, a tasting room featuring wines from two local vineyards.

With only 1,370 residents, Mariposa maintains a genuinely small-town feeling. Service is friendly, if not provided at urban speeds, and public employees could not be more helpful.

The local restaurant scene has been limited by the seasonal nature of tourism and the small number of year-round residents. But menus are becoming more upscale, yet prices remain a bargain.

Pony Espresso offers coffee and pastries for a quick breakfast, and the River Rock Cafe offers excellent deli fare in a fun and funky setting. For dinner, choose the back deck at Savoury's, where you can enjoy the warm evening weather and a glass of California wine.

Listen to your neighboring diners complain about the gridlocked hiking trail to Vernal Falls, and raise a toast to uncrowded Mariposa.

If you go

Getting there

Mariposa is about a three-hour drive from San Francisco. From Modesto, take Highway 132 east, then Highway 49 south. From Merced, take Highway 140 east. The landslide detour is on Highway 140 east of Mariposa and west of El Portal and Yosemite.

Where to stay

River Rock Inn, 4993 Seventh Ave. (209) 966-5793, www.riverrockncafe.com. Seven rooms, . $79-$92. Continental breakfast included. For details, see the Under Covers review at sfgate.com/travel.

Where to eat

Pony Espresso, 5040 Highway 140. (209) 966-5053. Espresso, blended coffee drinks, smoothies, bagels, baked goods. Open daily. Drinks $1.50-$4.50.

River Rock Cafe, 4993 Seventh Ave. (209) 966-5793. Deli sandwiches, salads, beer and wine, coffee and espresso. Open daily. Sandwiches $6.25 to $7.

Savoury's, 5027 Highway 140. (209) 966-7677. Seafood, pasta, steak , beer and California wines. Closed Sunday and Monday. Entrees $13-$28.

What to do

Mariposa Pool, 4998 County Park Road. (209) 966-2498. Lap and recreation swimming daily through Labor Day. $1.

Mariposa Museum and History Center, 5119 Jessie St. (209) 966-2924. Open daily through October. $3 adults, children 16 and under free.

California State Mining and Mineral Museum, 5005 Fairgrounds Road. (209) 742-7625, parks.ca.gov. Open daily through September. $3 adults, children 16 and under free.

Zephyr Whitewater Expeditions, (209) 532-6249, www.zrafting.com. Rafting trips on Merced River. Half-day trips from $85.

For more information

Mariposa County Visitors Bureau, (866) 425-3366, www.homeofyosemite.com.

This story orignally appeared July 1, 2007 in the San Francisco Chronicle