Yosemite

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Off to Yosemite today – about 4hr drive to the gate. Yosemite is HUGE! and AWESOME! We stopped at the visitor’s center to plan our stay. We saw El Capitain, Bridal Falls, Half Dome and the monstrous rock walls lining the valley! So impressive! Pictures can't relate the impact you feel when standing in the valley looking all around. No climbers on the walls – it was afternoon by this time and too hot. The magnitude of this park is what is so impressive! The views were amazing! We drove the Yosemite Valley loop and then down to the south end to see Mariposa Grove which holds the giant Sequoias. We walked the grove and saw the Grizzly Giant – UNBELIEVABLE! 96ft circumferance and 209ft tall. Truly a Giant! Also in that grove were the first two tunneled trees – one of which fell in 1969. We saw the first one tunneled and still standing, but did not go as far as the one that fell. We were not able to get close up to the trees since their root system is very shallow and would be harmed if everyone walked on them.



Unfortunately, we needed to drive all the way back up through the park to go out the east entrance. The roads are winding and steep (seems like all the roads have been since leaving the prairies!) Another late night when we decided to stop between Yosemite and Death Valley. We didn’t see as much fire devastation as in Yellowstone, but definitely a lot more than we thought going in.

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Photos

Bella-quoia
Bella being a sequoia!

The kids are dwarfed!
The original tunnel tree.