Yosemite National Park Day 1


Wow! 

“I have one word for this place. Wow!” That was Dave’s summary of our first day in Yosemite National Park, especially after seeing El Capitan in the morning sun. Others have described it in majestic terms, but I think Dave captured our feelings perfectly. On our first day we visited and/or photographed the following:

Valley View

On the way in, a turn-out on the Big Oak Flat Road (CA 120) gave us a stunning first view of Yosemite Valley. I had my iPhone zoomed in on this beautiful, roaring river. That may give you some idea of how high above the valley we were. Later I learned the waterfall in the picture is Bridalveil Fall.

First look at Yosemite Valley and Merced River

From our photo location, I saw Half Dome! I was literally jumping around with excitement!

I stopped jumping and dancing and moved up the road a bit to take a better pic of Half Dome. And I saw El Capitan! More jumping and excitement!


El Capitan (near) and Half Dome (far)


 

Cascade Fall

We crossed a bridge on Big Oak Flat Road going into the valley and discovered Cascade Falls.


Still on our way into Yosemite Valley, we encountered this gorgeous waterfall, Cascade Falls.


Cascade Falls


Bridalveil Fall

Our information told us the Bridalveil Fall trail was closed for restoration. To our delight, it was open and we could hike to the bottom. The amount of mist those falls expelled was incredible!

Fabulous Bridalveil Fall as we came into the park from the west.


Glad to have the windbreaker. The billowing mist was penetrating!


 

El Capitan

Since we entered from the west side of the park, we were seeing the backlit side of El Capitan. But even in shadow, the immense rock formation dominated the area.

El Capitan and Ribbon Falls to the left

As we left the park later in the day, we could see El Capitan from a different angle in the afternoon light. Notice on the next page clouds have part of the cliff in their shadows, and a sunny portion shows through.


Directly facing El Capitan in the afternoon sun.

Dave captured the best picture after we drove by this famous rock feature. With the morning light shining directly on it, he captured a remarkable image, seen above.



 Sentinel Falls

Sentinel Rock and Sentinel Falls were next on our trip around the Yosemite Valley loop.  I didn't want to get off the trail to get a better picture, and I love the pine trees framing the falls and rock. Dave, however, was more adventurous and captured a nice view.

Sentinel Falls

Sentinel Rock


 

Three Brothers

 As we continued our drive around the valley loop we discovered Three Brothers. The top left bro is Eagle Point. The middle guy lost a bunch of rocks in the 1987 Middle Brother Rockfall, the largest rockfall in Yosemite's known history. Dave really liked this particular formation.

Three Brothers


A piece of granite from Three Brothers


Yosemite Falls

Continuing around the valley loop was a stunning waterfall across a meadow. Yosemite Falls has at least 2 drops, and the most spectacular one, seen here, is Upper Yosemite Falls. The person taking our picture captured the falls' reflection in a pool of standing water in the meadow.

The Happy Couple


 We later hiked to the lower falls across the meadow, and we could see the two distinct falls. And getting closer to the bottom of the falls, you can definitely see the two levels.

Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls



Our glasses were covered with misty water droplets at the base of Lower Yosemite Falls. The roar of the rushing water made comment impossible. But no remark was really necessary. It was too magnificent and striking for mere words.

 





Half Dome

Iconic. Gorgeous. Imposing. Wow!


Half Dome's features are shrouded in the morning light.

 Tomorrow we plan to hike to Mirror Lake and capture Half Dome's reflection in the glassy surface. 


 GuideAlong

At our last campsite, the orange blossom special, we struck up a conversation with our neighbors, a delightful couple from near Springfield, Missouri. They told us about an app called GuideAlong (formerly GyPSy Guide) that uses GPS-triggered narration for 43 national parks and other fabulous locations. We used this as we drove through Yosemite, getting good information about hikes, scenic turnouts, interesting trivia, and some history of the park.  I highly recommend it if you plan to visit a national park.

After a full day of hiking, sightseeing, and taking hundreds of photographs, we returned to our campsite, one of the best of the trip. We back up to a swiftly flowing stream, with tall pines and California Incense-cedar trees all around. A pair of Canada Geese hung out near the river, with about eight goslings in tow. A long, fun day deserves some intense relaxation, wouldn't you say?

Riverfront campsites are premium, so interestingly enough, the site next to ours remained empty. Why? Someone (not us) moved the picnic table for that site right into the area a camper would back in. No one scouting for a campsite seemed to know they could have a superb site if they would just get out of the vehicle and move the table. We decided this was a good strategy to remember for the future.

Our campsite at Yosemite Lakes
Notice the Canada Goose by the river.
 



 

 

 

 




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