Rich and I were both extremely excited to visit Yosemite National Park based on everything we had heard so headed one hundred and forty miles east of San Fransisco to take in the sights for ourselves.
To make the most of our day in the park we first drove to Groveland, based on the outskirts of the park, where we stocked up on food and sleep ahead of our day exploring Yosemite.
“With the roof down on the car and the sun glistening through the trees our first impression of Yosemite was a great one!”
Our hostel room in the Yosemite International Hostel turned out to be in a beautiful old house and we felt very at home there, especially as there were hardly any other people staying in the house!
We found a supermarket to stock up on essentials, enjoyed a hearty dinner and made sure we had lots of food packed for our lunch and travels the next day.
The following morning we headed out bright and early and drove into Yosemite National Park. The roads in the park were great, undulating up and down hills and carving their way through forests which lined the road at either side.
“We were literally looking at perfection and it was breathtaking.”
With the roof down on the car and the sun glistening through the trees our first impression of Yosemite was a great one!
On foot, with the car parked up, we headed up to the first of our viewing points for the day where Half Dome stood majestically before us.
Looking out over the panoramic views we felt ever so small against the back drop of ginormous rock formations, valleys, waterfalls and forests below us.
With the blue sky and white clouds above us and the panorama below, it was like looking out over a magnificent painting, we were literally looking at perfection and it was breathtaking.
The number of sights before us are too numerous to mention in their entirety but the easier ones for us to spot were North Dome and Basket Dome facing the flat side of Half Dome and on the other side Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls cascaded down the valley.
We could have stayed looking at this view for days but we had more of the park to explore and eventually tore ourselves away in search of more picture perfect vistas.
We headed off in search of El Capitan and soon found ourselves pulling over in the car and jumping up onto a wall to get the best view from our first glimpse of El Capitan further down the valley.
En route to El Capitan we stopped at Bridalveil Falls and clambered up and over rocks at the bottom of it to stretch our legs and take a photo or two!
“Seeing the climbers put the scale of El Capitan into perspective as they looked like minuscule dots against the enormous seven and a half thousand foot climb they were on.”
We continued our drive through the park and could have driven round for days but our route was determined by our wish to get to the base of El Capitan and look up the sheer vast rock face that is a popular climb for those experienced and brave enough to do it.
Our next stop was Yosemite Falls, the highest waterfall in Yosemite National Park with a two thousand, four hundred and twenty five foot drop.
On our approach we could see it towering in front of us, a slither of white clear to see against the contrasting green trees before it.
It was a very popular attraction and a busy place so we didn’t stay long and instead continued on our quest to reach the base of El Capitan.
“Our day spent in Yosemite National Park was simply amazing, with breathtaking views everywhere we looked, it was certainly worth the the drive out to see it.”
Eventually, after another short walk from an easily located parking spot, we found ourselves at the foot of El Capitan.
Straining our necks backwards and looking up the rock face we could see tiny figures halfway up. If I am honest Rich saw them straightaway and then spent about ten minutes explaining to me where they were before I spotted them!
Seeing the climbers put the scale of El Capitan into perspective as they looked like minuscule dots against the enormous seven and a half thousand foot climb they were on.
Our day spent in Yosemite National Park was simply amazing, with breathtaking views everywhere we looked, it was certainly worth the the drive out to see it.
Before our day came to a close though we had a one hundred and eighty five mile drive to Monterey as our west coast road trip continued.
Lambs on the loose 
Wow this looks so amazing!!!!
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