August 24, Yosemite National Park

Since we no longer have our traveling companions, Bill and Jane, we have rearranged parts of the trip. With just a few phone calls to make changes in campground reservations, we have been able to visit the places we had planned to see. Fortunately, Joe found out about a tour bus that would take us up Tioga Road (a 2 1/2 hr. drive) to Yosemite. What a terrific find that was! You da' man, Joe

!

The drive is scenic, actually quite gorgeous, but it is also treacherous with lots of hairpin turns, sharp drop-offs and steep inclines. But riding the bus allowed us to enjoy the spectacular scenery.

This is one of the waterfalls in the park but right now the flow is much lower due to the drier season and decreased snowmelt. This waterfall is usually very large earlier in the spring.

Another waterfall in the valley.

We went to see the Ahwahnee Lodge, this is the back of it. Unfortunately, the front was under re-construction and I couldn't get a picture of it. It was an impressive building with Indian motif interior design.

Also spent time in the museum, watched a film on the history of Yosemite, info on John Muir and a visit to the Indian Cultural Exhibit.
Joe never meets a stranger; he had a brief encounter with John Muir and commented that he "seemed like a nice fellow, just not very talkative".

El Capitan, a massive granite monolith, stands 3,593 feet from base to summit. This was the first view we had inside the park. It was AWESOME!
This place is a hiker's paradise. We saw hundreds of people of all ages decked out in hiking gear, walking poles and back packs that looked like they weighed about 50 pounds.

But for us, a leisurely walk and riding the shuttle around the park was our preferred activity. It would take about a week to see all the wonderful things in this park and we only had a day. But I'm soooo glad we came here. Tomorrow we drive across Nevada to Utah.