It was quite a haul to get to Yosemite from our campground in Coarsegold, CA, but it was well worth the hour-plus trip. The beauty is astounding. From El Capitan to Half Dome, from Yosemite Falls to the giant redwoods, the park is a marvel of nature.
We were lucky to get tolerable temperatures in the park. In Coarsegold, it was about 100 degrees, but in Yosemite, the temp was in the mid 80s -- perfect!
Quick facts:
- The land area of Yosemite National Park is approximately 747,956 acres, or about 1,169 square miles!
- The rangers told us Yosemite has more waterfalls than anywhere else in the United States.
- More than 300 species of animals make the park their home.
There is some other fascinating info on the park at this
link.
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| Summer in Yosemite -- and yet look at the snow edging this meadow! It was about 83 degrees and we saw a LOT of snow left along the road. |
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| The large quantity of melting snowpack resulted in the swollen, roaring river. |
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| From the Taft Overlook -- our first panoramic view of the Yosemite valley. Breathtaking.The snow-covered peaks in the far distance are part of the Clark Range, a sub-range of the Sierra Nevada mountains. |
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The large flat-faced rock on the right is called Half Dome.
In the valley below, too far away to capture with our camera, is Mirror Lake. |
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| A closer view of one of Yosemite's waterfalls. |
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| The view from Glacier Point. Yosemite Falls, which are 2,425 feet tall, are shown in the background, left. They are the highest measured waterfalls in North America. |
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| Various views of the park. |
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| On the way to the Tunnel View pull over. |
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| The Tunnel View. Gorgeous! To the left, the mammoth El Capitan. I think the falls pictured are the famous Bridalveil Falls. You can see Half Dome far in the distance. |
The Grizzly Giant
The tree pictured in the two shots above, the Grizzly Giant, only stands about 209 feet. But its massive circumference is 96 feet, and its diameter at the base is 28 feet. This old fella is estimated to be 1,800 years old. It has a large fire scar and a dead "snag-top" due to a "loss of sapwood" (at least that is what the sign said). I think that means that it was unable to move water from its base to the top.
Bass Lake and California Flowers
Our last day in Coarsegold, we didn't feel like making the long drive back to Yosemite, and we pretty much had seen all the highlights anyway. Instead, we took a ride to find nearby Bass Lake. We were stymied for a while, but eventually found (pretty much by accident) a public access to the lake. It was really lovely. Lots of boats in the water and swimmers enjoying the perfect weather. We were jealous!
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| The water in Bass Lake was the perfect temperature for swimming, but we didn't have our suits with us. I felt like jumping in with my clothes on! |
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| A burbling waterfall near Bass Lake. |
I forgot to do this in the last blog: Beau wanted me to be sure and include a photo of the beautiful flowering shrubs we see EVERYWHERE along the roads in California and on the freeway medians. They are spectacular.
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| Have you ever seen a freeway median like this? I believe these are Meillard flowering rose shrubs. Highways do not have to be ugly. |
As usual, I am five or so days behind with this journal. I have to put together a blog ASAP on our wonderful stay in Napa, before I forget all the details. We visited fabulous wineries and had a ball on the Napa Wine Train.
We also met a lovely lady on the train -- hi Danika! Thanks for becoming a follower of the blog (hope you don't regret it). Wish I had thought to take a photo of YOU to include!
Our love to all.
Tanks, Panky
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