Day 8-10 Yosemite National Park

“It is by far the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter” – John Muir

Yosemite National Park is one of the greatest treasures of the World. The park spans 1,169 square miles to hundreds of wildlife species and thousands of Yosemite plants. It was designated a World Heritage Site in 1984. It also contains 800 miles of hiking trails and 282 miles of road, and I finally had the chance to see it all with my own eyes during our road trip. We found lodging 15 miles south of the South Entrance of the park (ohh, and extra mental note, next time, we should find lodging by the West Entrance instead), and from the South Entrance, there is another 35 miles of winding road to the famous Yosemite Valley. We visited for a total of 3 days, quite a large chunk of our road trip, however, now I wish we had stayed for even longer. Because of the time constraints, we were only able to see the Yosemite Valley, but not the other parts of the National Park. Here are photos of the valley.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is an excerpt from the Yosemite National Park’s website providing a brief history of the park:
“History books detail the Mariposa Battalion entering Yosemite Valley in 1851 to remove the Ahwahneechee. As Euro-American settlement occured, people arrived on foot, on horseback and by rail to rustic hotels. Parts of the landscape were exploited, spurring conservationists to appeal for protections. President Abraham Lincoln signed an 1864 bill granting Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove to the State of California. John Muir helped spark the creation of Yosemite National Park in 1890.”

“The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn, and gloaming, on seas and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.” – from John of the Mountains (1938)

 

 

 

One of the hikes that we took was to Mirror Lake, a clearing in between the two mountains with water so clear you can easily see the reflections.

 

Since we visited in the season of Spring, the water volume in the lake and in the various waterfalls throughout the Park was at its peak. The hike was very comfortable, not much elevation gain, but all surrounded by giant trees and the occasional Stellar’s Blue Jays popping up or the pounding sound of the woodpecker if you pause just a minute and listen to the forest. There are all sorts of other animals in the Park, and that includes greedy squirrels who want to steal your food.

 

 

 

 

“As long as I live, I’ll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I’ll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, sotrm, and the avalanche. I’ll acquaint myself with the glacier and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can” – from The Journals of John Muir

Lastly, we visited the Mariposa Grove on our way out. It is very similar to the Giant Sequoia Forest that we saw in the Sequoia National Park, but it has a few famous sequoias that reside within it. For example, the Grizzly Giant, is said to be taller the a Boeing 747. Of course, I made sure to jog down this note for the benefit of my husband. :) We walked in Mariposa Grove for a few hours at sunset, a little sadden by the fact that we will be leaving this amazing place, but at the end, we all agreed that this will not be the last time we visit the Yosemite National Park.