We make the same journey over Tioga Pass but today stop fewer times - although the temptation is always there as there as so many lovely places to see that seem to have been missed even yesterday.
The weather is perfect and as we drive towards the Yosemite Valley the temperature rises to 90°F.
The National Park is about 1,200 square miles in size and so as we drive through what is officially designated as wilderness it is not unusual to see deer or maybe ever Californian brown bears.
However no bears this day - but more on that later.
The Yosemite Valley was hot and busy - but although on this Sunday there must have been thousands of visitors, it is not at all difficult to walk just a few hundred yards off the most popular trails and feel almost alone.
This is a view of Yosemite Falls which is the highest measured falls in the USA. The distance from the top of the Upper Falls to the valley floor is over 2,400 feet.
The water in the falls is entirely made up from snow melting further up the mountains and as soon as it it all melted the falls dry up - which is usually in late summer.
This is the sixth biggest waterfall in the world.
This is "The Meadow" which forms part of the valley between the mountains.
The colours are so lush with the bright green grasses and the clear blue sky.
For us it is now lunch time and a picnic from the back of the Chevy.
After lunch we decide to take a hike up towards the lower of the two falls that make up the Yosemite Falls.
The sheer size of this waterfall is difficult to gauge in these photographs but to give you an idea, the falls in the distance in this picture are nearly 1 1/2 miles away from where we are standing.
This is the vast mountain that we had photographed from afar yesterday called "Half Dome"
The peak of this mountain is 4,700 feet above the valley floor and was formed in the slightly hollowed out look by glaciers millions of years ago.
Climbers have made many accents of the north (smooth) face seen here. But the first succesful ascent in 1957 took 5 days to complete.
This is a view of the upper and lower Yosemite Falls.
And this is the lower falls as it plummets into the river that flows through the middle of the valley.
Some local residents are not so bothered by the Falls and are more concerned with finding lunch.
This is another famous mountain from the Yosemite Valley and is called "El Capitan"
It is a sheer rock face stretches 3,000 feet from the valley.
The name means "The Captain or Chief" and was taken as a loose translation of the Native American name for the mountain by the Spanish Mariposa Battalion (that Mariposa again!) who explored the valley in the 1850's
Having explored the valley our next plan is to head up to Glacier Point which sits high above the valley and offers incredible views from over 3,000 feet.
On our way there (a 30 mile drive winding around the mountain curves) there is a very famous viewing area which allows views back into the Yosemite Valley.
The waterfall in the distance is called "Bridal Veil Falls" and as you can see the sunlight reflecting in the spray of the falls gives a rainbow effect which can be seen miles away.
And up and up we go until eventually reaching the top of the mountain and finally looking across the whole range of mountains and waterfalls below.
This is Glacier Point and is 7,200 feet above sea level - so if you are afraid of heights, don't bother coming here because from the top it is a sheer drop to the bottom of the valley.
The girls sitting on top of the world looking on to Half Dome.
This is the view straight down to Curry Village which is a camp ground at the northern part of the valley.
The scenery is absolutely breathtaking and with such a lovely clear day to view it from, we think we can see here for 60 miles to the distant mountains.
At this spot in 2004 when we last visited this area we were astounded to see a female bear join us on the viewing terrace.
This encounter goes down in Hunter Family legend because Carolyn was asking a 12 year old Fiona to go and stand with the bear to get her picture taken. As she said later - "it just never dawned on me that this wasn't a big cuddly teddy bear when in fact it is a hungry wild animal"
For the sake of posterity and because we didn't get the same visit this time, here are some wonderful pictures that Carolyn took back then in 2004.
And so after viewing the wonderful Yosemite Valley and mountains from every angle it is time to start the long journey back to Mammoth Lakes and our last night.
On the way back as the sun set in the west, we get one last look at Half Dome framed by the setting sun.
Tomorrow we pack and embark on the longest journey of our trip to Southern Utah to visit Saint George and Zion.
1 comment:
Brilliant pictures Norman! Ps that 2 hour detour you took yesterday looked well worth it! Haha
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