Yosemite

29th May 2010 A morning of packing was followed by an afternoon movie and general hanging around in Starbucks. Although we were able to leave our big bags at the hotel, we still had to carry our hand luggage with us and had decided a few days ago that it would just be best to be in one place for a while. The cinema seemed like a good option :). However, we had underestimated how busy it would be and failed to get tickets for anything besides the Prince of Persia, which was predictable but good. ...

3rd & 4th October 2009 One final drive through the Ponderosa Pines, Cedar Pines and Sequoias of Yosemite before leaving the park through the north west exit and heading for Sacramento. We followed scenic highway 49 through many small towns set up during the gold rush including Sonora where we stopped for a lovely sandwich followed by a massive cinnamon bun (between us!). We headed off again, passing through a tiny settlement with just a camp site and garage and surprisingly flying the Welsh flag - of course we had to stop for a photo :). ...

2nd October 2009 A day for superlative views. This morning we headed out to Glacier Point which afforded us stupendous views of Yosemite Valley, putting us almost level with Half Dome, 3000 foot above the valley and about 7000 foot above sea level. We even managed to pick out some of the people who had hiked the 17 mile round trip to Half Dome. ...

1st October 2009 Today we decided to take two ranger led walks in Yosemite Valley. The rangers here have loads of information about the park and are really keen to pass it on, along with their passion for Yosemite. These walks are totally free of charge and a fantastic way to learn more about our surroundings. On leaving the car park, we encountered our first big wildlife (there are masses of squirels and chipmunks about), deer who were using the bushes in the carpark as a fine breakfast. ...

29th & 30th September 2009 Simply the only word to describe the scenary of Yosemite National Park. Yesterday we had travelled from Mammouth Lakes via Mono Lake and the Tioga Pass to Yosemite National Park. It was also the first day that we hadn’t had wall to wall sunshine, and the first day we had to dig our jumpers out of the bag (typically at the bottom!). ...