Yosemite- A Natural Paradise

Today we headed to Yosemite National Park and spent most of the day there. It's pretty clear some people spend a week here, but with our overall tour of the country, each of these amazing destinations rates about half a day. One good thing is that we know which places we will want to return to for longer stays in the future.

I drove from Fresno to Yosemite, and there were beautiful views and many hairpin curves along the way. The mile long tunnel bothered me a little, but mainly because I still had my sunglasses on and didn't have enough notice to change, plus the insides of the tunnel are still big chunks of rock, which seem rather intimidating. Our first pull off in Yosemite, called Tunnel View, is the classic postcard picture of El Capitan (the largest chunk of exposed granite in the world), Half Dome, and Bridal Veil Falls. Unfortunately, once again, the falls were a mere trickle because of the drought.

We ate lunch at the historic Ahwahnee Lodge dining room, which is worth the visit all by itself, and then took a two hour tour on an open tram. Yosemite is a truly beautiful place, with granite cliffs, forests, rivers, rippling brooks, lakes and rivers, filled with families, couples, and mountain climbers who were all hiking, tubing, wading, or just photographing the scenery. Our guide was a retired high school principal whose lifelong dream was to work in a National Park. He and his wife both live and work in Yosemite. It made me happy for them that they have made this dream come true, and now share their delight in Yosemite with those of us lucky enough to visit.

Today we saw a bear, thanks to the quick eyes of Betty Jo (who also spotted Cadillac Ranch earlier in the trip). He was lumbering along the side of the road to the right of our car as we were leaving. He was a large black bear with a patch of grey on his chest. We actually lowered the windows and shouted to hikers that he was behind them.

We exited Yosemite by the Tioga Pass, which I heard more about later, a road filled with hairpin and corkscrew turns, dangerously steep descents, and cliffs right beside us that dropped thousands of feet. Kristee didn't look out the window this afternoon either. Signs indicated that we were as high as 9k950 feet at times, and we descended to 5,000 feet by evening. We traded a visit to San Francisco and Los Angeles for Sequoia and Yosemite. Best decision we have made so far!