Yosemite Part II

Bob and I decided to take a drive through the southern part of Yosemite National Park today. The skies were clearing and it was a beautiful day. It took about an hour to get from our campground and into the park to the fork in the road. One way lead left to Yosemite Valley and the other lead right, towards the South Gate.

Not far past our right turn we came to Tunnel View, which affords a magnificent vista.

Off in the distance to the left is El Capitain, across on the right is Glacier Point and behind it is Half Dome. Mt Watkins is far in the center back. The views in Yosemite look like they've been painted on some giant backdrop. I've never seen such an effect.

We passed through a tunnel and continued on our way. Past the tunnel are lovely valleys, perhaps not quite as dramatic as views around Yosemite Valley but quite nice all the same.

The road was long and winding, and about another hour passed before we were almost to the southern boundary of the park. Here we found the Pioneer Yosemite History Center, and we were the only people around. The Center featured buildings and a covered bridge from the park's early days. This is the artists' cabin. Artists were very important in the early days of the park because they captured the beauty of this wonderful area and shared it with the rest of the country.

The Center was set on the banks of the Chilnualna Creek. We stopped and ate our lunch nearby before turning around to head back. By the side of the road we came upon a small family of mule deer, who seemed quite unafraid of us as we stopped to take photos. 

I couldn't resist taking one more photograph of Bridal Veil Falls, as the light was better today than on Monday.

Lately I have been especially pleased with the photographs I've taken. It's probably the subject matter--this place is so gorgeous! Someday I'll get a "real" camera (maybe) but right now I'm very happy with the camera on my iPhone 6, and it's always with me. 

On Thursday we leave Yosemite Pines and start heading to Sequoia National Park and King's Canyon National Park, which will take us two days of easy travel to reach. We could probably make it in one if we pushed, but we are in no rush. We really wanted to see Yosemite's big Sequoia trees, and that's the only thing we didn't see. While there are some smaller Yosemite Sequoias we could have hiked to, we wanted to see the Mariposa stand which include some of the largest Sequoias living.  And unfortunately, the Mariposa stand of trees is closed for renovations, but that's OK--now we have a good reason to visit another National Park!