The long awaited YOSEMITE

We woke up bright and early to get a jump start on our drive to Yosemite. The drive to Yosemite was almost as beautiful as the park itself with its very diverse landscape and features. We stopped and picked up a picnic lunch for later and started into the park. As we got into the park we stopped along the highway at different points to take in the vistas and natural beauty that is Yosemite. We now understand why so many people call it the most beautiful place on earth. Every picture we took was like a postcard.

Our first stop within the park after driving into the valley (seeing El Capitain, Half Dome, and the many waterfalls) was the Visitor Center. There we toured the exhibit on how Yosemite was formed over thousands of years;.through volcanic activity and glacier movements. We saw a movie entitled "The Spirit of Yosemite" which went into the history of the park and how it was founded.

We then walked towards the Yosemite Falls, where we sat and ate lunch. We were able to walk all the way up to the lower falls which were simply magical. The mist flowed over us as we stood on the bridge at the base of the falls. The streams leading from the falls were interesting as well with their many splits, connections, and rapids.

The one thing that was surprising was the amount of people that were at the park. In some ways it diminished the sheer natural beauty that we were witnessing. Some people just do not understand that when they say stay on the paths, your not supposed to bring your stroller down to the edge of the waterfall!!!

After the waterfall we walked back to the shuttle stop and made our way to Mirror Lake. The shuttle was very helpful and allowed for easy access to the many sites and attractions in the valley. When we made it to mirror Lake we hiked the mile up the hill to see the lake that mirrored the cliffs. At the edge of the lake there were also rock sculptures that had been built by the hikers to balance themselves. The balancing rocks and mirrored surrounding made the scene tranquil and spiritual.

After hiking the mile back and boarding the shuttle we made our way to the gift shop and then back to car. As we left Yosemite Valley we traveled a different route stopping again to see the many vistas, including the tunnel view of the entire valley. By 7:00pm we finally made it to Mariposa Grove, where the Sequoia's call home. The great thing was that no one was at the grove so we were alone with the trees, the bad things was that it was a mile hike up hill and that only included two of the many famous trees. After hiking to the California Tunnel Tree and the Great Grizzly we decided that coming back was a necessity.

After leaving the park we made our way back to civilization and found a place to eat and settled into our hotel. In total, if our calculations are correct we walked over 7 miles. No wonder we were so tired!!!

P.S. Throughout the whole day Jacqueline was in and out of service contacting Amtrak about her NEW JOB!!!!It is official Jacqueline is an Amtrak employee. YAAAAAAYYYYY!!!!