Bill Hotchkiss

Ace Tanner, gambler, gunman, wins a beautiful Indian maiden, Manzanita, in a poker game from the bandit, Jesus Piedra. Jesus steals her back leaving Ace tied up in the desert with no food or water. Ace escapes and purses Jesus to get back Manzanita. By gambling and gold mining, he gets enough money to keep on the trail. Eventually he kills Jesus & flees with Manzanita into obscurity. Hotchkiss suggests Tanner was a real person whose journals he has found & used to as a basis for this novel. He also suggests he has enough material left to write a couple more novels. The special magical valley where Tanner is reunited with Manzanita is Yosemite National Park now and thus the title.
Based on this effort, I'm not encouraged to look for the next novel in the series. I did not find it very satisfying.… (mere)