A Special Vacation

By Barbara Wignall

Posted on 07.21.05

A special vacation to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary we arrived in Los Angeles spend two days visiting all the places we had heard of but never seen then traveled on to Yosemite National Park.
Our time in Yosemite was so spectacular I wanted to share the experience with anybody who loves the natural beauty of America's great national parks.

First up, the drive into the park from the southern entrance takes you through a tunnel that emerges with a spectacular view of the valley from the west. the valley and the famous peaks of Yosemite -- El Capitan and Half Dome -

Later in the day we took a guided tour of the valley The Cathedral across a meadow, El Capitan, the largest granite monolith in the world.
There were climbers all over El Cap this afternoon, which is not surprising given the season and the weather. It takes four to six days to get to the top. The climbers bring all their food and water, and sleep on an "artificial shelf" that they carry with them -- essentially a hammock that depends from fascinating devices that are wedged into crevices. I am terrified at the thought of sleeping in such a device against the 2000-foot sheer rock face, even if I could imagine making the climb otherwise. Absolutely Fantastic. And they evacuate into a container that they pack out with them after they have reached the top. Amazing but not for me

Of course, you have to catch Yosemite Falls, which unlike the Bridal Veil runs dry later in the summer:

Finally, on the way back to our cabin at the south entrance we stopped to check out the Giant Sequoias, the largest trees in the world.

Some of these trees are so old that they were saplings before the founding of Rome. Think of it -- in 753 BCE, when Romulus and Remus were still be suckled by wolves -- some of these trees had started to grow

The cabin in Yosemite was well equipped the spectacular views will stay with me forever
You are warned not to eat outside because the wild bears that roam the park will invite themselves to join your feast
From time to time you can see them in the distance behind the tree quite a frightening thought at night when you are fast asleep in your log cabin that a bear maybe wandering outside

I must admit, having seen Yellowstone a couple of years ago and Glacier a few years before that, I was sceptical when my husband suggested that we visit Yosemite. How wrong was I it was a trip well worth making one I will remember for the rest of my life
Next stop Las Vegas
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