Yosemite National Park is one of our favorite places to visit.
We have been there so many times, and we still enjoy the variety
in the park very much. This was the first time my parents coming
with us to Yosemite (it's also the first time for Linus). They
were amazed by the natural beauty: roaring waterfalls,
magnificent landscape, big trees, and so on.
Getting
there ...
Driving to Yosemite from my home is quite easy: 101 to 84 to
880 to 238 to 580 to 132 to 99 to 140.
It's about four-hour smooth and comfortable driving.
The First Day ...
- Bridalveil Fall
We got to the Yosemite National Park at about noon, and
our first stop was the Bridalveil Fall. It's time to
stretch our legs and have a picnic. After lunch, we
headed to the trail toward the base of the fall.
Bridalveil Fall drops 620 feet vertically. The trail was
a very easy 10-min walk. However, the waterfall was so
powerful that it looked like a thunderstorm, and it
became not so easy to walk in the heavy rain. We made it
to the base, and I quickly set up my camera and took a few pictures.
Although we have prepared for it, we were still all wet.
- Yosemite Valley
 |
We drove into the Yosemite
Valley and made a few stops along the road
including El
Capitan, Yosemite
Fall, and Half Dome
vista points. El Capitan is a massive granite
monolith standing 3593 feet from base to summit.
Occasionally we can spot rock climbers on their
way up the sheer face. Yosemite Fall consisting
of the upper and lower falls and an intermediate
cascade drops 2425 feet, which makes it the
tallest waterfall in North America. Then we went
to check in the Yosemite Lodge, and took a little
break. |
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- Vernal Fall
 |
After the break, we took a
shuttle bus to Happy Isles and began to hike
toward Vernal Fall. The trail climbs beside the
scenic Merced River. There were many signs along
the trail giving the warning about bears. My mom
began to worry about it when there were fewer
people on the trail. We didn't walk too far this
time. We stopped at the Vernal Fall view
footbridge which is about 1 mile from the trail
head. |
 |
- I sneaked out during our dinner at the Yosemite Lodge
restaurant to take pictures of sunset of Half
Dome (the photo on the top). I planned to go to the
Sentinel Bridge, but made a wrong turn when I drove out
of the Lodge. It took me more than 20 min to drive
through the valley instead of just 5 min to take the
shots.
The Second Day ...
- Yosemite Valley
As usuall, I got up early and went out to the valley to
take pictures. There were so many mosquitoes that I was
always surrounded by hundreds of them.
After breakfast, we had an easy and
relaxed walk in the valley. There was so much moisture in
the air and much colder when we were closed to Yosemite
Fall. At about 10 o'clock, we began to drive out of the
valley. Along the Northside Drive, the Valley View
turnout offers one of the best valley-level views of El
Capitan, Bridalveil Fall, and Yosemite Valley (although
the light should be much better in the late afternoon).
- Tioga Road
Because of El Niño, Tioga Road (Highway 120) was not
open until July (a few days before our trip). It was the
latest open date in 20 years.
- Tuolumne Meadow
We had a picnic at the Tuolumne Meadow (we originally
planned to have lunch at the Tuolumne Lodge. But it was
not open yet). The meadows were still full of water and
looked like swamps. There were too many mosquitoes that
Clare and Linus even refused to get off car for hiking.
- Tunnel View
 |
 |
Tunnel View is probably one of
the most photographed places in Yosemite. It
provides the spectaluar view of Yosemite,
including El Capitan, Half Dome, Sentinel Rock,
Cathedral Rocks, and Bridalveil Fall. |
Glacier Point
Same as Tioga Pass, Glacier Point was closed till the
previous weekend before our trip. Walk to the edge of the
rim, we can look down 3214 feet to the valley floor, with
a bird's view of many popular locations of Yosemite,
including Half Dome, Nevada Fall, Vernal Fall, and
Yosemite Fall.
- Wawona Hotel
 |
 |
We stayed in the Wawona Hotel,
which is a historical landmark built in 1879.
There is a nine-hole golf course opened in 1918. |
The Third Day ...
- Mariposa Grove
 |
Maripose Grove of Giant
Sequoias, at the south end of the park, is the
largest stand of sequoia trees in Yosemite. The
sequoia trees, standing some 250 feet tall and
ranging in age from 2500 to 3000 years old, are
believed to be the largest, by volume, living
things in nature. An easy walk trail led us to
the Grizzly Giant, the oldest tree here. Can you
see us in the photo
?
|
 |
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- Back home
After the 3-day 2-night trip, it's time to go home. We
had lunch in a small town outside the park. We took a
different route: 41 to 145 to 99 to 152 to 101 to 85 to
280.
[Back to Photo Page] [Go to Yosemite Gallery]
Getting
there ... 
Glacier Point
