Yosemite National Park - Photo Essay!

Hi friends! How is your week going?! I hope you're doing great! We are in the middle of a (another) heat wave and I'm just counting down the days until Fall arrives and cooler weather returns. It's been a hot summer, and a fun summer too! On Monday my hubs had the day off work and he took one look at my beleaguered, hot face, and said - let's drive to the ocean today! Boy, that was just what I needed - Vitamin Sea. We didn't know it beforehand, but we arrived at our fav beach to find MANY whales swimming in the cove! Humpback whales.... They were everywhere - and surprisingly close to the shore. We watched them for hours!! Magic! California is weird, and expensive, but boy do I feel blessed by the nature that surrounds us here! My post for today is another example of that!

Today I'm finally getting around to sharing our trip to Yosemite back in June! My post is a photo essay featuring the gorgeous Yosemite National Park in Central/Northern California! We went on a day trip on June 12th and it's taken me a while to get it posted here! Grab a cuppa and spend a little time with me! We are very very lucky that we live fairly close to Yosemite! It's easy for us to do a day trip down and back so that's what we did on this trip. We've been here many times, but each time it feels new again and I never tire of the awesomeness of God's creation. It's a special place and I hope if you haven't already, that you get to visit here one day!

All my photos today were taken with my iPhone! I have lots of very good camera equipment, but I find if I use my phone instead of all my gear, that it helps me stay more present in the moment. Gotta travel light sometimes, literally and figuratively. I was really looking for a quiet peaceful simple day, so I left all my gear at home. We filled up the cooler with drinks and yummy snacks, and hit the road at 2am! YES 2am! Ha. It takes about three hours to drive there, and you know we had to stop for coffee along the way. We saw the sun rise on the trip and that makes my husband happy! He is not only an early bird, but he is the earliest bird that wakes up the other early birds! LOL. (I am an exhausted night owl....)  I hope you enjoy the photos. I'll put some information before each one for a bit of history and context. CLICK HERE for the NPS website to read more.

 

This is the famous Tunnel View! Because this vista opens up right after you emerge from a short tunnel on your way into the park. It's AMAZING! And, it's where everyone stops for a photo op!! The waterfall you see there is Bridalveil Fall.... Lots of times there is a rainbow in the mist, but not this day. That waterfall that looks small in the photo is 600 feet tall! Does that give you some perspective on the size of this beautiful valley!? 

 

This is Yosemite Falls (Upper).... As reflected in the river. This in particular is one of my favorite views in the park. Gotta come early to get the reflection just right!

 

 

This is the famous El Capitan Granite Formation! This is the "rock" that you see all the movies of the rock climbers on! This tiny rock is about 3000 feet tall from the base. That's about three times the Eiffel Tower! And people climb it! (Not me!) It's pretty remarkable!

 

This is the view from the top of Glacier Point. The top waterfall in the photo is Nevada Fall, and the bottom waterfall in the photo is Vernal Fall. For perspective, Nevada Fall is 600 feet tall and Vernal Fall is 325 feet tall! They look tiny! Fun fact - I have hiked almost to the top of Nevada Fall once! And a couple of times to the top of Vernal Fall (The MIST trail which is one of the highlights of my entire life)! 

 

Here's a closer view of Bridalveil Fall from the path up to it! The sound of it is so powerful and the air is cool and crisp from the mist.... You can walk right up to the bottom of it and feeeeel it!

 

 

The peaceful and clear Merced River....

 

 

Beautiful trees and clouds! The air is so fresh and clean and smells like trees!

 

 

One more view of Bridalveil Fall!

 

Early in the morning, by the river, this pretty young lady was having her Quinceañera photos taken!

 

 

My boyfriend of 31 years!! A rare photo of my husband smiling! LOL. This is his favorite place on earth and he was so happy in this moment. Behind him is the famous Half Dome... And he and his friend Randy climbed to the top of it several years ago. So incredible!! 

 

 

And here we are - all smiles!! What a glorious day it was!

 

 

Ain't no interwebs here.... Gotta go old school if you need to make a phone call!! 

 

We found some butterfly wings in the grass - they were perfect.

 

Another slightly different view of Yosemite Falls (Upper and Lower).... It's very hard to convey the extreme scale of everything. It's like you're so small in the midst of this amazing place. This is one of the places where I really feel God. If I'm in the right mode it actually makes me cry.

 

 

One more view of Half Dome taken from Glacier Point...

 

There is a lovely chapel near the meadow in the valley floor. They have services, and you can get married there too! We have been there before when a beautiful bride and groom were out front having photos done. Magic!

 

 

The trees! The clouds! The amazingly blue sky! A quick note - you do not have to be a hiker to see all of these things!! Of course, there are way more sights to see if you're willing to hike even a little bit. I like that the park is accessible to everyone! There are a lot of places to stay surrounding the park - and a semi big town (Oakhurst) with hotels and even a Starbucks... AND A STAMP STORE!!! (The Cat's Meow)!  There are many camping options, but you really need to plan ahead if you want to camp - spaces fill up fast! We usually don't visit in the height of Summer - we prefer early June or September!! 

 

Another view of the River!

 

 

I bet these trees have stories.... Simply majestic!

 

 

I made a video of our Yosemite trip too! I'm really trying to get better at videos! If you'd like to see my Yosemite video on YouTube - CLICK HERE! It's about two minutes long and I compiled my favorite videos of the day!

Thanks for visiting my page today and sharing in my love of our golden state,  beautiful California! Have you been to Yosemite before? Let me know in the comments! Have a blessed and wonderful day my friends! XOXO

 

Thanks for your support of my website!

 

Comments

[lee]

I have been to Yosemite but not Yellowstone - It is on my husband's and my bucket list! Thank you for sharing the photos! So awesome!

[Celia Cawthon]

Breathtaking!!! Your photos bring Yosemite right to me. You’re talent is so inspiring!

[Karen Jackson]

Awesome pics Wanda! I love Yosemite too. I am from Cal grew up there and lived there until I was 30 we live in Maine now. We used to travel up there a lot as I grew up singing a "The Other Day I met a Bear" song as my Dad dove. We stayed at the Swiss Chalet. Such great memories, one is of me almost falling down Bridal Vail falls but the man behind me caught my sweater and saved my life. My Dad is still friends with him. I recently painted Yosemite because I love it so much. My husband and I used to camp up there and at Convict Lake it's on the way to Yosemite if you go through I think it was called Bishop the little town. Thank you for sharing this you made my morning happier!

[Donna]

What a beautiful place to visit... A little far from NJ though! Wonde ful & colorful photos-- great job!!

[Elayne Catey]

WOW! These photos are spectacular. Yosemite is also Doug's favorite place on earth, his family went there every summer. We have been there several times together and I have been to the Great Yosemite Stamp Escape a few times.
Your photography is the best ever, you are so talented.
P.S. The hubs is quite handsome!!!

[Becky Green]

BEAUTIFUL WORK, Wanda! Some of these would make WONDERFUL PAINTINGS! SO GLAD you shared with us! THANK YOU!!! ;)

[Toni]

What a glorious day, must have been had. Wonderful pics with phone!

[Lori Spitzer]

You are a brilliant photographer! Love seeing these! No, I have never visited Yosemite. It's on my bucket list. Have you ever been to Niagara Falls? That's another one of those stunning sights. And the enormous whirlpool there is amazing as well. TFS -
Lori S in PA

[Connie Hollenbeck]

Wanda! Awesome photos!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience!
So happy you are able to get out and enjoy what life has to offer.
Again, thank you for sharing.
Take care.

[Janet Carter]

Thank you for sharing and describing all your beautiful photos! Phone cameras are darn good, I've started using mine more than my heavier equipment, too. Yosemite is a National Park that I look forward to visiting, some day.

[Vicki Dutcher]

I could look at your photography for hours! 😊. Love the beautiful scenes you captured.

[Christine Dol]

Wanda, thank-you for sharing your pictures and Video of your trip! It is so a beautiful!