Pullin' Chocks

Yosemite National Park

One of the earliest, most famous and popular National Parks, Yosemite was established in 1890. It is ceratinly a special and beautiful place on this earth! We were able to visit the Mariposa Grove of giant Seqouis trees and the famous Yosemite Valley. We were surprised to see so many visitors in November, even after many of the roads and areas had closed due to snow. We also observed many foreign national visitors evidenced by the various guest books we signed and observed. We also saw some local residents... deer and our first bear encounter! It is impossible for us to capture the stunning magnificence with our camera, we are no Ansel Adams :-) but we share those pictures that remind us of these wonderful visits.

The Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias

The Grizzly Giant Tree - these trees are huge!!!

Gari standing on a small stump in the Mariposa Grove parking lot.

A closer picture of the tree behind Gari in the picture above. The experts call the big scar at the base of the tree, a fire scar. Sequoias need fire to regenerate, and as a result the trees have a design which resists fire very well. The fire causes the seeds to be released from the seed cones, and also clears away the competing underbrush for the new seedlings. Some of the fire scars are incredible.

An example of an incredible fire scar, the Clothespin Tree.

Seqouia seedlings underneath the parents.

The California Tree has a tunnel cut through it and the tree continues to live and grow. These trees can live up to 3,000 years! Most of the older larger trees that we saw were estimated from 1,000 to 2,000 years old. The age of these trees just amazes me when I stop to think about what they have lived through.

And then there's the place Gari selected for us for our picnic lunch :-) Thank You Gari!

Yosemite Valley and Village

The ride into the valley was difficult. The roads were hilly, curvey and narrow which made the going slow.
The beauty and wonder started way before we arrived. When we jumped out of the truck we were greeted by a 6 or 7 point buck deer just 30 feet behind the truck. He just stood there chewing and looking at us and around his situation. He had absolutely no fear of us, kind of like a Chincoteague Pony. I intentionally talked loud so he could hear us to see if that would put him off, but it seemed to have no effect whatsoever. I didn't think to get his picture... next time.

On the way - it's a little hard to see, but check out that sharp rock hanging into the road on the left.

Entering the valley, we fit throught that hole, without the trailer of course!

Rounding the corner we see El Capitan come into view, wow!

At Yosemite Village

This cross section was dated at 1,700 years old when cut. The tags are various events in history, such as Columbus arriving in America and the Civil War.

And into the valley... it was hard not to stop every two minutes and take a picture; the scenery was so magnificient!

Gari caught this little girl sneaking by...

Big rock, man with helmet.

Some color in front of big rock...

Iconic Half Dome

More big granite...

Yosemite Falls from the bridge... no water this time of year and especially because of the drought conditions in California presently. If you look closely you can see the water stain in the granite where the falls usually occur.