Yosemite National Park

Just past Mono Lake is the small town of Lee Vining. I knew that this was close to the entrance of Yosemite National Park so I booked into a motel initially for three nights.

Approaching Yosemite

It was late afternoon when I turned to the right and onto the road that leads to Yosemite National Park. The scenery quickly changes from the desert lands to green forests and snow capped mountains with crystal streams cascading. The road seems to climb forever as the feeling grows that you are heading toward something truly special. Concentrating on driving and taking in this spectacular scenery do not go well together. The drop at the side of the road must be about 1000 feet with the mountains climbing steeply away on the other side.

Yosemite National Park

I spent five days exploring Yosemite, barely a scratch at the surface. I must return to this place someday with weeks to spare, months would be better, in fact I could happily live in this natural wonderland.

500 Million years in the making, nature at its best or worst whichever way you choose to look at it. Tectonic plate movements, volcano's, earthquakes, glaciers, wind and water erosion, and more have made this place what it is today.

How do you describe a place as wonderful as this? All I can say is, it's a feeling..... you don't just see Yosemite, you feel it...... it surrounds you, it it fills you, it amazes you, it overwhelms you, it astounds you, it humbles you, and more, so much more.

Go there.... Feel it

Lander Dome and Dog Lake

My first stop inside the park was Lander Dome. This huge granite dome suddenly becomes visible like an assault on the senses. I parked the car and started walking up. Before long I was about half way up the dome and I noticed the the little marks that I had seen from the bottom were people climbing or abseiling. I sat down and just felt it, ran my fingers over the surface. The granite was polished smooth except for score marks left by rocks that were carried by glaciers that had polished the stone thousands of years ago. I just sat there soaking in the view and the whole feeling of being there. After a while I started walking, my intention was to get pictures of Lander Dome from different angles but I soon found myself on the trail to Dog Lake. It was a hike of about 5 miles up the mountain. The views were magnificent and Dog Lake itself stunning in the early evening light.

Around The Domes and Walking in Yosemite

The Half Dome

Yosemite Valley

The following pictures are just a few from Yosemite Valley. It was very difficult to capture the scale of this place in photographs. The Domes, Spires and waterfalls are on a huge scale. Sheer rock faces rise thousands of feet from the valley floor. Yosemite Falls tumbles 2425 feet with the upper fall cascading 1430 feet in a single drop, Sentinel falls drops about 3000 feet in a series of sheer falls and cascades.