Cleaning Yosemite: Join This Famous ‘Facelift' From Home

WHERE TO EVEN START? If you were tasked with tidying Yosemite National Park, would your thoughts first turn to what sort of playlist you'd need and the high-energy songs that would fill it? Would it contain about a million get-moving tunes, give or take? Would you wear out several pairs of headphones before you were done? These are the questions you might ponder at first, but here is news that will ease your mind: During the annual Yosemite Facelift, the huge clean-up effort that arrives near the end of the national park's busy summer season, you won't need to take on the entire park alone. Volunteers focus on certain well-loved areas, all to send litter, random left-behind objects, and other bits 'n bobs on their way, giving nature room to breathe. And "Yosemite Valley's largest volunteer clean-up event" is...

NOW OPEN: So if you can roll up your sleeves (or indeed go sleeveless, given these warm early fall days), and pitch in, that rocks. Registering in advance? You'll definitely want to, and keep in mind that the park is requiring reservations through Sept. 30. But wait: Can you join in, at least in spirit, from where you live, and clean up your local park, shoreline, or neighborhood? Sweet: The Yosemite Facelift organizers have a simple way for fans of the epic stretch of Sierra wilderness to play a part from home during the Sept. 22-26 event. Just share your clean-up snaps with #FaceliftActLocal "to be eligible for giveaways." Adding to the come-together-from-wherever effort? There shall be three evenings of stream-tastic content, including tunes, to raise the vibes and provide clean-uppers with plenty of energy and verve.

YOSEMITE LOVERS, it's the end of September, which means it is time to give that Great Granite Place, the Valley of Verdant Vistas, and the Waterfalliest Dream Ever, some real love, from near, far, or wherever you are. Start here, Big Y buffs.