Yosemite is Timeless

The last time I visited Yosemite, I was about my daughter's age, 12. I remember thinking the place was really "cool" and "neat-o". Thirty some-odd years later, I found better words. "Mesmerizing", "awe-inspiring", and "humbling" are my newer, more adult words for the same picturesque moments I encountered this week. I never seem to grasp how small I really am until I am confronted with these monumental wonders.

Only a few days later, I still have not come to terms with the relative size of everything Yosemite. Think about it...El Capitan is the largest single piece of granite above ground on the face of the earth. Yosemite Falls is the tallest falls in North America and third largest on earth. And you can look at them at the same time by turning your head. The Mariposa Grove, while it doesn't claim the oldest or largest tree, is the largest concentration of giant sequoias in the world. Many are so close they have grown together. A sequoia named, "Old Grizzly" is considered to be around 1900 years old and is 92 ft in diameter at its base. I have slept in much smaller hotel rooms. It seems impossible to come to comprehend the grandness and I just left. Maybe "neat-o" is a better adjective.

Yosemite Facts

1. Yosemite National Park is located 195 miles east of San Francisco and 276 miles north of Los Angeles, California



2. It's 761,266 acres cover almost 1000 miles in circumference.



3. Became a World Heritage Site in 1984.



4. Ansel Adams spent a lifetime here photographing Yosemite's wonders



5. Yosemite Falls is solely fed by snowmelt and dries up every August



6. Abraham Lincoln signed a bill protecting the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove during the Civil War.



7. The US Calvary protected the park until the Ranger Service was created.



8. The sport of rock climbing got it's start in Yosemite. As a matter of fact, the campground at the base of El Capitan is listed on the World Heritage Registry as being instrumental in the formation of the sport.
   
   
9. There are over 800 miles of hiking trails within the park

If your thinking of visiting Yosemite National Park, please contact me at theTravelValet@gmail.com. I can provide a wealth of info and advice as well as some very current itinerary tips.

Wildlife sights on this trip included: American black bear (mother and three cubs), mule deer, yellow-bellied marmot, rainbow trout, coyote and timber wolf. That was enough to validate the trip by itself.

Al, the Travel Valet

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