Yosemite Valley

We started out around 9:15 this morning and after an hour were at the south entrance to Yosemite. We showed our Senior Pass and proceeded into the park. Our first stop was at the Yosemite Overlook by the tunnel, where vehicles were lined up to find a parking place. Evidently Easter Saturday is a popular day to visit our national parks. The vista was stunning, just as we recalled from our last trip here in August 2002.

The famous view of the valley from the tunnel overlook.

Our first view of Bridalveil Falls

Next, of course, we stopped at Bridalveil Falls and climbed the short distance to the base of the falls, where we were showered with the spray from the abundant flow. We arrived in Yosemite Valley around 11:40, but then it took a while to find a parking space, so our first stop was at the Yosemite Grill for some lunch. On every side we were surrounded by awe inspiring towering cliffs and massive granite formations.

We joined a Ranger Walk to hear a talk about the bears in the Valley. The ranger, Sharon, was only about 5 feet tall, but as she promised, she had a "ranger voice" and was able to keep a large group of kids and adults engaged as she passed on the message that it's best to experience "the wild" on its own terms, keeping the wild animals wild. That way they can exhibit their natural behaviors (and the incidence of problem encounters between people and bears has been reduced by 80% recently).

We drove around a couple of the bigger campgrounds in the Valley to see if we might want to camp there on a future visit. We decided that our behemoth is too large for us to comfortably negotiate the narrow roads and small sites.

The drive home was a bit harrowing for me, since Ken was driving and I was the one hanging out over the sheer cliffs as we rounded the curves.