Rock slide in Yosemite Valley *

The Ahwahnee Hotel has been evacuated due to a rock fall in the Royal Arches section. About 300 guests are affected. No one has been hurt, although some cars have been damaged. Yosemite National Park geologists are evaluating the situation. The park is packed with summer crowds this week, I expect. Odd fact: the historic Ahwahnee shares its architect, Gilbert Stanley Underwood, with the old federal courthouse north of City Hall in Downtown.

* 8:30 p.m. update: The Ahwahnee will remain closed until noon on Friday, AP says. Wow. That's 150 rooms a night to be found elsewhere in the region in the summer high season, some of them reserved a year ago.

Photo: National Park Service, Erik Skindrud