Yosemite
Photos to soon follow suit, although no picture could truly capture the enormity of the mountains and water falls nor the vast size of the densely packed conifer forest.
We had the convertible for this trip, winding through the desert and chaparral, up the foot hills on twisty roads that seemed impossibly carved into the hillsides. In my sunglasses and scarf wrapped around my head to hold my golden hair in place, basking in the heat with the wind whipping by, nothing could smack more of California.
As we approached the park the air cooled noticeably as we climbed in elevation. The sun beating down was still hot, but there was a pleasant chill to the air.
We hiked up the steep and narrow granite paths to Vernal Falls. Mark was much braver than I and climbed out to the edge to feel the full force of the wind produced by the crashing cascading water. He's standing on the rocks in the first picture with his arms spread wide:
Much to my surprise the hike down did little for my knees! It wasn�t a very long hike, just steep and on hard substrate, normally my knees don�t complain until after I�ve hiked eleven miles or so. They�re fine now.
We cruised through the mountains and passed by dense forests, admired the power of fire ecology as we found ourselves surrounded by recently burned forest with it�s rapidly recovering under growth. Natural reclamation is a wondrous thing, it is stunning how quickly vegetation takes over.
We found ourselves in the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, a grove of about 500 Sierra Redwoods (not to be confused with the Coast Redwoods). In the interest of time, we only hiked a short way into this grove of towering giants, humbled by their sheer size and age. They reminded me of the National Registry of Big Trees. Certainly one in this grove qualifies.
We wanted to reach Glacier Point for the sunset, the drive through the mountains as dusk approached was spectacular beyond words. We reached the point shortly after the sun had set; we were still rewarded with a magnificent view! (this shot was after sunset with a 16 second exposure time:)
We started to wind our way back down the mountains, at around 5000 feet and in total darkness we paused on the side of the road under the clear skies. A convertible makes a fantastic platform for star gazing! Our seats leaned back we were in store for a breathtaking show of sparkling stars, the gauzy veil of the Milky Way delicately gracing the sky, even a shooting star, a magical way to end our day!
We hiked up the steep and narrow granite paths to Vernal Falls. Mark was much braver than I and climbed out to the edge to feel the full force of the wind produced by the crashing cascading water. He's standing on the rocks in the first picture with his arms spread wide:
Much to my surprise the hike down did little for my knees! It wasn�t a very long hike, just steep and on hard substrate, normally my knees don�t complain until after I�ve hiked eleven miles or so. They�re fine now.
We cruised through the mountains and passed by dense forests, admired the power of fire ecology as we found ourselves surrounded by recently burned forest with it�s rapidly recovering under growth. Natural reclamation is a wondrous thing, it is stunning how quickly vegetation takes over.
We found ourselves in the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, a grove of about 500 Sierra Redwoods (not to be confused with the Coast Redwoods). In the interest of time, we only hiked a short way into this grove of towering giants, humbled by their sheer size and age. They reminded me of the National Registry of Big Trees. Certainly one in this grove qualifies.
We wanted to reach Glacier Point for the sunset, the drive through the mountains as dusk approached was spectacular beyond words. We reached the point shortly after the sun had set; we were still rewarded with a magnificent view! (this shot was after sunset with a 16 second exposure time:)
We started to wind our way back down the mountains, at around 5000 feet and in total darkness we paused on the side of the road under the clear skies. A convertible makes a fantastic platform for star gazing! Our seats leaned back we were in store for a breathtaking show of sparkling stars, the gauzy veil of the Milky Way delicately gracing the sky, even a shooting star, a magical way to end our day!