Yosemite National Park

The drive to Yosemite took a long time, the best part of an hour to the entry gate where we paid our $30 entry for the car, then another 30 minutes or so to a long tunnel though the mountain, then we came out the other end and there was the most amazing view down the Yosemite Valley. From there we went along the road near the Bridalveil Falls, between so many tall trees, yet with amazing views of the falls and also of the rock face known ad El Capitan.

Then down the valley; Luci was keen to explore the far end of the valley first and it was great. After parking we crossed a meadow surrounded by Sequoias, walked through a camping area, then got a little disoriented trying to find the trail to Vernal and Nevada Falls. The directions in the park are in many cases less than clear. So we ended up having a snack at the Happy Isles, which really were just river islands little different from the surrounding country.

From there we wend down river a little and crossed to the northern side and walked up the valley above a raging torrent littered with huge rocks. At a bridge I read about a family who had visited in the summer of 2012. It was a hot day and the mother and her 2 sons paddled in a shallow, quiet area near the bridge. But the sons slipped and were caught by the current. The river battered them between the rocks and they drowned. An average of about 6 people each year ignore the warning signs and drown there.

Further up the Vernal Fall looked amazing, when we got close the spray was thick as we zigzagged beside the fall. And then we were at the top and the view was even more amazing. A little upstream beside a pond with logs and flotsam caught in a gentle whirlpool and the river sliding over a long slope of rock, and this is where we chose to have lunch. A squirrel came by wanting to steal food and a blue woodpecker flitted around in the trees.

This pool was our original destination but we decided to continue up toward Nevada Fall, as far as the john Muir Trail that comes back over the south side of the valley. The views were amazing. When we got to the bottom we decided to continue on to Mirror Lake.Read more