Travelogue 23--California: Yosemite Area

Once more, this travelogue will be presented mostly through pictures...we hope you enjoy them!

Yosemite National Park is a place of granite grandeur. As we drove up to Glacier Point, our first glimpse of Half Dome took our breath away. It's one thing to read about it and see someone else's pictures. It's another thing to experience this magnificent view for yourself. This was the first time either of us had visited the park, but we know it won't be our last. From Glacier Point we could see Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, Nevada and Vernal Falls, the Granite Arches and the far reaches of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It was truly awesome. This vista became our favorite spot that we returned to several times.

Views from Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park

While exploring the Yosemite Valley, we of course had to pause to admire El Capitan, another famous icon of the park. While hiking the trails Tom surprised a group of mule deer who quickly 'broinged' away. (They look like they are hopping on pogo sticks when then run. It's guaranteed to make you smile!)

El Capitan in Yosemite Valley; Mule deer fawns along the trail

One day when we were exploring we took the tram ride through the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. We travelled 7 miles through magnificent stands of these old giants. We saw several with partially hollowed out trunks that you can even walk through. Their quiet strength and resilience inspired us.

Giant Sequoias in Mariposa Grove

One of our favorite drives took us over the Tioga Pass Road to the east entrance to Yosemite. Along the way, we pause to reflect at beautiful Tenaya Lake. The water was so clear, you could easily see the stones on the bottom of the lake. We hiked around most of the lake and felt the peacefulness of this spot seep into our souls. All along the roads, massive granite cliffs and faces surrounded us.

Tenaya Lake along the Tioga Pass Road

One day we travelled the 120-mile Sierra Vista Scenic Byway which is just south of Yosemite. About 100 miles of this scenic byway is made up of good roads. The other 20 miles took just about as long to bump our way over as the other 100! It was well worth the trip, though. This area of the Sierra Nevada Mountains is quiet, undeveloped and filled with towering pines and magnificent rock formations.

Granite cliffs in Yosemite NP; Unusual rock formations along the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway

From the Mile High Vista, we could see the Mammoth Pools down in the valley. We noticed the lakes seemed to have a white rim around them. When we drove all the way down to the edge of the lakes, what had appeared as a small rock rim actually turned out to be 150-200 feet of rock wall. We found out that after Labor Day, they drop the level of the Mammoth Pools that much to make way for the anticipated ice and snow melt. If you look closely at the second picture, you can see Tom (the tiny speck) standing at the edge of the water.

Mammoth Pools seen from above and below

Another interesting area just east of Yosemite is the Mono Lake area. Mono Lake is 10x saltier than the sea. As the natural springs bubbled up in this lake, large formations of calcium carbonate were formed. These "tufa towers" as they are known were eventually exposed as the level of Mono Lake dropped. The lake level is continuing to drop because some of the streams which used to feed the lake have been diverted for municipal water supplies. More and more of the tufa towers are being exposed, creating an unique landscape.

Mono Lake and the Tufa Towers

We really enjoyed our stay at the Escapee (SKP) Park Sierra near Coarsegold, CA. It was a wonderful place to use as a base for our exploration of the Yosemite area. We met some wonderful people there and look forward to returning there again. We've heard that Yosemite and its waterfalls are not to be missed in the springtime, so we'll plan another visit for that special season. (FYI: There are more Yosemite area photos you might want to see in the ImagiNature Photo Gallery.)

Love from the wanderers as the journey continues...

Kay & Tom

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