A Valley and A Giant

“The power of imagination makes us infinite.” – John Muir

A Valley…

The day had finally come to see one of the most popular national parks.  Reim and I were still suffering the effects of the cold we caught along with the fatigue of traveling so many miles over so few days.   But, we had to carry on and see The Yosemite.

We stayed about 25 miles from the southwest entrance of Yosemite National Park.  Once you enter the park it’s a relatively long (another 25 miles) and uninspiring drive through a forest to the valley.

Finally, we rounded a corner and caught a glimpse of the valley. We stopped and took some photos and then moved on towards the Wawona Road tunnel.

We passed through the tunnel and one of the great spectacles of this world presented itself. The Yosemite Valley  with the giant granite face of El Capitan to the left, the breathtaking  Bridalveil Falls to the right, and in the distance, the crown jewel of Yosemite, Half Dome.

We spent several minutes in awe snapping photos before heading down to the valley floor and Bridalveil Falls.   Upon arriving at the base of Bridalveil Falls we immediately felt the cooling spray of mist and heard thunderous cracks as the water was violently introduced to the rocks at the bottom of the 617 ft fall.

We then headed to the visitors center area for a snack and so I could find a reasonably quiet place to take a conference call.  During most of my conference call I watched a woodpecker attack a tree.  I’m easily entertained.  We then boarded one of the shuttles that would eventually drop us near the trail head for Vernal Falls.  It was a surprisingly, semi-strenuous 1 mile hike to the bottom of the falls.  It was worth it!

We took the bus back to the visitors center for a quick bite then left The Yosemite.

A Giant…

After a “recovery day” we made the trek to Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Parks to see the old giant sequoia trees.  What a pleasant surprise was Kings Canyon NP.  We entered the park and went directly to Grant’s Grove.  We took the short walk to General Grant’s Tree, which is referred to as the Nation’s Christmas Tree and is the only living “National Shrine”.  The mass of these trees are amazing, but the age of these giants
are mind-boggling.  General Grant’s Tree is one of the second largest tree in the world and is estimated to be between 1,650 to 3,000 years old.

After we finished the tour of the giants we drove to the end of Kings Canyon.  This has to be one of the most underrated parks in the national parks system.  The views from of the  upper canyons are spectacularly and the drive along the bottom of the canyon is superb.  Reim, the kids, and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit here.

We returned to Coarsegold to spend a little quality time with K and B.

We spent 5 nights in Coarsegold in a KOA that needs some TLC (new owners and they are improving the place).  We were ready to head north to Oregon and a beautiful mountain lake.