Today we drove into Yosemite Valley to\ngaze in wonder at that extraordinary place. It is about an hour drive\nfrom our campground to the Valley floor but it is actually only about\n35 miles away. The road to the park winds around quite a bit and\nclimbs about 3000 feet before descending about 3000 feet to the\nValley floor. Our federal geezer pass saved us $35 at the gate. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tThe first sight entering the park on\nCA-120 is the magnificent Bridalveil Falls cascading almost 1000 feet\nfrom the rim of the valley to the floor. However, we tried to look\nthe other way in a fruitless attempt to avoid distraction because we\nhad a plan to eat breakfast at the Yosemite Valley Lodge. We found\nour way there where we were served some park concessionaire’s food\nthat was very nearly almost nominal but pricey. The food was better\nthan the food at the north rim of the Grand Canyon but worse than the\nfood at the Federal Court in San Francisco. We are not convinced that\nhaving the low bidder in the private sector run the food and lodging\nconcessions in parks is a good idea. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tThe Yosemite Valley Lodge is located\nright at the bottom of Yosemite Falls, a 1000 foot plus three-tiered\nwaterfall that has so much water falling that is makes smacking\nnoises when it hits the rocks far below the rim. The sound can be\nheard for miles. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tIn 2014 we passed this way during\nCalifornia’s dreadful drought and not a drop of water was falling\ninto the Valley. However, this was a year with substantial rainfall\nand all of Yosemite’s waterfalls are open for business. The Merced\nRiver running down the Valley floor was swollen and considerable\nwhite water rapids can be seen throughout the Valley floor. The\nwildflowers and dogwood trees are in full bloom and very pretty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tThe massive granite monoliths of Half\nDome and El Capital loom over the puny tourists below. We stopped in\na meadow below El Capitan and got out all our optical gear to look\nfor climbers insane enough to climb the 4000 foot smooth granite\nblock. It took us a while to spot any because they look like tiny\nblack dots to the naked eye but between a long telephoto camera lens\nand a 20 \u2013 60 power spotting scope we finally found quite a few\nloonies up there. It looks like about a two or three day climb for\nthose experienced enough to try this amateur killer. I wonder where\nthey poop. We stayed clear of the very bottom of this huge cliff in\ncase my guess was right. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are not sufficient superlatives to describe the stunning beauty of this place. People have flocked here for many years and only the most jaded would be unable to be awed by this place. It is absolutely magnificent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
See some photos by clicking the link. https:\/\/photos.app.goo.gl\/QggnJrjWdUACQ21BA<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today we drove into Yosemite Valley to gaze in wonder at that extraordinary place. It is about an hour drive from our campground to the Valley floor but it is actually only about 35 miles away. The road to the … Continue reading