Yosemite

In the middle of May, we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go out to California to experience Yosemite National Park.  Lance attended a conference there, and Max and I went along with him to see the breathtaking sights.  I feel so lucky to have seen the amazing views that exist inside the park, from the giant Sequoia redwood trees to the staggering rock formations to the awe-inspiring waterfalls.  Overall, we had a great trip!  The pictures speak for themselves.  Enjoy!

At the airport and ready to roll!

Max was cracking up watching home videos of himself on the plane.  Don't you just love the Cookie Monster headphones?!

He's such a big boy now--swimming all by himself with his floaties on.

Here is the cabin we were staying in at the Tenaya Lodge, which was located in Fish Camp, California (population 200, elevation 4,449 feet).  Fish Camp is about an hour from Fresno and an hour from Yosemite Valley (but only minutes from the park entrance).

Our adorable hiker.  He was hilarious when we got inside the park because he thought we were going to a National PLAYGROUND.  Needless to say, he was a little dismayed.  But, as always, he made it fun no matter what!

Posing for the camera!

This is a Giant Sequoia Redwood Tree in the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias.  A Giant Sequoia can grow to be 350 feet tall and 25 feet in diameter.  The bark layer alone can be 3 to 4 feet.  They are considered the largest trees in the world and have a life span of 3,000 years.  Interestingly, they can survive without their centers, or heartwood (the nutrition is supplied from the roots along the outer perimeter of bark and up to the branches at the top).  They produce pine cones that are a foot to 15" long.  Despite all of this, their root system is very shallow, at only 5 feet.  The redness in their ropy bark comes from tannins, like those found in red wines.  The tannins are believed to help preserve the Sequoias when they do fall, as this Sequoia--named the Fallen Monarch--has done.  They are not sure how long the tree has been felled, but there are photos of Civil War soldiers dancing atop it.  You can see the perspective of how massive these trees are by looking to the far right of the photo at the group of people walking by.  The Giant Sequoias were my favorite part of the trip, as they can be seen in very few places in the world.  Scientists aren't sure exactly what criteria determine where the trees will thrive, but they know it has something to do with the vast amount of water that is needed to fuel the trees to maturity and throughout their lifespan, along with some other factors about soil quality, etc.  One tree actually has a tunnel carved through the base of it that is large enough to permit a horse and carriage to drive under it.  The simply staggering enormity and soaring beauty are amazing to witness.  I feel so lucky to have seen them in person!!!  They really take your breath away.

Here we are in front of a Giant Sequoia.  You can again begin to get an idea of the massive nature of these particular trees from seeing them in comparison to us.  Keep in mind that Lance is over 6 feet tall!

Here are Max and me aboard the Sugar Pine Logging Railroad Car.  The Sugar Pine Railroad supplied the logging industry with transportation for their felled trees for over 30 years, back when the policy was to clear-cut everything.  The forest you see on either side of us here is relatively young, as it is all regrown solely from seedlings of the trees left along the perimeter of the loggers' clear-cutting areas.  Unfortunately, the policy back then was also to refrain from replanting the trees they razed.

At one point, we stopped so the engineer could refill the water supply to the steam engine.  Here are Max and me sitting in front of the engine :-)

Max was excited to meet the engineer and hand him his ticket :-)

Here is a photo of Max and Lance panning for gold!  "There's gold in them there hills" is a true statement: Max has a glass vial of it to prove it!  He was soooo sweet and said he's going to make me a necklace out of it :-)  I love this kid!

Now the real show starts.  This is the view you get as you walk onto Glacier Point, at over 7,000 feet above sea level.  You are looking at Half Dome straight ahead, and Vernal Falls to the right (lower falls) as well as Nevada Falls to the right (upper falls).  I had no idea what splendor awaited me when I got out of our rental car.  My breath literally caught in my throat, and a spiritual feeling flooded over me.  It was an amazing moment.

Max was napping in the car when we arrived at Glacier Point, so he wasn't too keen on having his picture taken at the moment...but nevertheless, here we are!

This is a close up of Nevada Falls.

This is a close up of Vernal Falls.

This is a close up of Half Dome, which stands at 8,835 feet.  People come from around the world to climb the sheer straight face of Half Dome.  Yosemite National Park is home to more domed rock formations than anywhere else in the world.  Half Dome is one of the most photographed sights in the park and has become an instantly recognizable symbol of Yosemite.

Here you see the Royal Arches at the bottom of the photo, with Basket Dome and North Dome above them an slightly to the right.

Another family photo at Glacier Point.

Max finally came around a little bit and was excited to see the sights.  Here he is pointing out something interesting to Lance.

Max, me, and the bunny Lance won out of the claw machine at the arcade in the hotel where we were staying!

A family photo where Max was actually looking!!  Yay!

We encountered this fella as we were driving back toward our hotel when we were just barely out of Glacier Point.  We're not sure if he's a coyote or a wolf, but we weren't stopping for too long to find out!

This is another amazing view of the park, with the large rock formation called El Capitan on the left, Half Dome in the center in the distance, Cloud's Rest as the flat formation between El Capitan and Half Dome, and Bridal Veil Falls on the far right.

A gorgeous shot of a meadow on the Yosemite Valley floor with the Upper Yosemite Falls in the background.

Here you can see the Merced River (or River of Mercy), which was carved by glaciers ages ago and is now fueled with snow melt run off from the many waterfalls around the park.  Most of the waterfalls are snow-melt driven (like the Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls), although a couple of them (like Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls) are actually fed from a lake high up in the mountains.

This is the famous Ahwahnee Hotel.  It books up 365 days in advance and has been frequented by many famous people.  We ate lunch in the dining room there and enjoyed the amazing views.  It is the only original lodge in the valley that has not burned down from forest fires.

Here we are at the Lower Yosemite Falls, which we are told was incredibly tame.  Usually, when Yosemite gets higher amounts of snow fall than it had this year, the falls rush so hard that the water completely covers the area where we are standing and the rocks to the right of us.  Little Max passed out in his stroller, so Lance and I took turns climbing those rocks to get a closer view.  It was somewhat dicey, but it was worth the risk!

Here is Lance climbing the rocks on his way to get a close up of Lower Yosemite Falls.

And here I am doing the same thing!

Here's a young male deer we encountered--he's so young that his antlers are still covered with fuzz.  He was totally unintimidated by people.  One of the rangers said that he had never seen this particular species of deer in the park before!