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Granite Walls of Keystone Canyon near Thompson Pass
Keystone Canyon
The famous Rock Store on Mulholland Highway near Seminole Hot Springs.
The Rock Store
A Street in Bath, UK
Street in Bath

One of the many enthusiasts tearing around the dunes that day.
Nice Quad!
Foresta is a community just outside Yosemite Valley near El Portal.
Foresta
Helicopter Landing Area on Mendenhall Glacier
Mendenhall Glacier
El Eden, near Mismaloya, near Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico
El Eden

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Forum of Rome, Italy
The Forum
Polo Players start up the second half of the game.
Polo Game, Mokuleia
Old Plantation Building on St. John, USVI
Plantation Building
The camp sites and grounds of Pine Knot Campground.
Pine Knot Campground
HOME
May 16, 2009

Exploring Yosemite Valley

California > United States

Everywhere you go in Yosemite Valley people run around with eyes bulging out, pointing cameras and craning heads upward. You and me and everyone else.

Some view this magnificent masterpiece as a divine creation. Others ponder chaotic geological forces carving and shifting the land over eons. Either way, Yosemite inspires an awe rarely so universal in effect.

Majestic Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America and the sixth highest in the world.
Upper Yosemite Falls

What is extraordinary in this valley is a matter of scale. Similar shapes and rock faces can occur in a tide pool. A trickle of water from a tidal surge is a tiny waterfall. Yosemite is a compact archetype of superlative quality. El Capitan and Half Dome awe with their imposing façades. Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America. All around us nature soars and dominates and we casually stroll through in a dreamlike state, finally free of rolls of film with limited exposures.

Big Creek around where it branches off from the South Fork Merced River.
Big Creek near Route 41

Of course, photos simply do not capture the experience any better than a video of hang gliding from Glacier Point capturing the feeling of flying over all of this on a bright morning.

The sheer granite façade of El Capitan dominates the western end of the valley. It’s a magnificent sight from the valley floor.
El Capitan

Photographs may capture, but often their intent is to tide one over until one actually arrives at the scene and experiences for oneself... or to recall that dreamlike state and the inspiring environs.

The ferocious cascade of Lower Yosemite Falls showered the whole area with a dense mist that was refreshing on a hot day.
Lower Yosemite Falls
Mom, Jay & Alyssa
Mom, Jay & Alyssa

This Particular Trip

We arrived early Sunday morning amidst the growing traffic of motorhomes and busses and met up with my mom and Jay for a hike up to bask in the refreshing spray of Lower Yosemite Falls. May is a good time to visit but it means campground choices are somewhat limited. Tioga Pass is still closed and other sites do not open until mid-June. We opted to stay at Hodgdon Meadow and spend a day up at less-frequented Hetch Hetchy Valley. On the way back down we snaked up to Glacier Point to take in a bird’s-eye view of the valley. That was a Tuesday and the park was noticeably less crowded.

Leaving Yosemite via Big Oak Rd. One of the tunnels is in the background.
Leaving Yosemite

Tags  Driving, Hiking, Valleys, Mountains

Yosemite Series | All United States Locations

Half Dome from the valley floor on Northside drive.
Half Dome from the Valley Floor
Where Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir met in 1903 to discuss the future of Yosemite National Park.
Where Roosevelt and Muir Met in 1903
A doe grazing in Yosemite. She must’ve been acclimated to humans as she showed no fear at our presence.
A Doe Grazing
The classic shot of Yosemite valley that everyone takes as they first come in. A rite of passage as a tourist. On the right is Bridalveil Fall, on the left is El Capitan, and in the back is Half Dome and Clouds Rest.
Yosemite Valley in the Morning
My camper van, a 2006 Ford E250 van with a high-top. The motorcycle is a 2006 Honda CBR600RR.
My Camper Van & Motorcycle

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Yosemite Valley
Carved Granite above the Meadows.
Carved Granite above the Meadows
The warm afternoon sun on Bridalveil Falls.
Afternoon Sun on Bridalveil Falls
Kanoa & Windsong On the Valley Floor
On the Valley Floor

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