Yosemite National Park has had a certain mystique to it. I have seen pictures, particularly by Ansel Adams, that just wowed me and I wanted to see it for myself. So here we are. As I mentioned yesterday, the easiest, most direct route to Yosemite Valley, the heart of the park, was closed due to rock slides. We had two options, the south entrance or the north entrance. One of the campground staff has suggested the south route because it was a much easier route. So taking that advice, we headed for the south entrance, about 45 miles from the campground. Yosemite Valley is another 30+ miles from the entrance. The park is in the Sierra highlands so the roads meander and the average speed on them is about 35 MPH. As you approach the Yosemite Valley from the south, your first view of it is from quite high up and it is amazing. Once you get into the valley, you can get better views of some of its famous landmarks, El Capitan, Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite Falls and Half Dome. Bridal Veil Falls is really beautiful and none of our pictures do it justice. When we arrived at the falls, the sun was directly above, and hard as we tried (including scrambling on some rocks below the falls to get a better shot), we could not eliminate the glare. The pictures that we did take were from the approach trail.

Well inside the Yosemite Valley is Yosemite Village, in which we spent a bit of time. There is a beautifully done 30 minute movie about the park that shows it through the seasons. The Ansel Adams Gallery had prints of his pictures for sale (we didn't buy). There is also a recreation of an a Ahwahnee Indian Village and a number of other exhibits.

Being adventurous, I ignored the routing advice and left the Park through the north entrance. It turned out to be quite a ride. The combination of roads we had to take to get back had more twists and turns then any roller coaster ride that I have been on. Susie loved it... NOT. About 15 miles from Mariposa, we were stopped by a CalTrans worker who told us that it is a one lane road ahead and we would have to wait about 10 minutes. What he didn't tell us was that just beyond the work zone, a forest fire had just burned some acres adjacent to the road. There were still hot spots on the mountain above the road and we could see many crews putting out these hot spots so that the fire doesn't flare up again. They were assisted by fire fighting helicopters with buckets of water. It was amazing how may people and how much equipment was required to control a relatively small fire. This area is so dry, that the fire warnings are calling it "extreme" conditions. No open fires are permitted anywhere in the area. It wouldn't take much to create a major wildfire.

Tomorrow we are going back to the Park by way of the south entrance and will return the same way.
Yosemite Valley as seen from the overlook on the road from the south entrance. El Capitan is the huge "rock" on the left center and Half Dome can be seen in the distance the right of El Capitan.
The two gypsies on at the overlook of Yosemite Valley
Three different views of Bridal Veil Falls. Susie captured the mists that are given off by the falls large drop (620 feet), above right. Since the sun was sitting right on top of the falls, we could not get a picture that showed the entire drop.
Two different views of El Capitan
The Upper and Lower falls of Yosemite Falls, above right, drop a total of 2,425 feet. This is the tallest fall in North America. The Merced River, right, flows gently through the valley. Floating down the river is a popular pastime in the park.
Two views of Half Dome
I have always liked Ansel Adams photography. He has taken the best known photos of Yosemite and other national parks. He hauled a large format camera over some rough terrain to get the pictures. I decided that I would try to duplicate his work with a much lighter camera.