Speaking of age

 

Tatting is old. So are the trees in Yosemite National Park. It takes 3+ hours to drive to the park from my house. I’ve done it in a day trip. It was exhausting. This time I stayed overnight close to the park. With 3 days to explore, we took our time. Here are some highlights:

We came in the South entrance. After a twisty, winding road, you drive through a tunnel. Now this tunnel was made in the early 20^th Century. It’s narrow, dark and very, very straight. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I wouldn’t want to take a truck or bus through the tunnel. I don’t think they allow it. Once you exit the tunnel, you can park and take in the view. You see Half Dome, El Capitan, Bridalveil Falls and Horsetail Falls. Here’s what I snapped with my phone:

As tourist attractions go, this park doesn’t have a lot. Mostly just nature. The park is developed with flush toilets and a 4 star hotel. We ate lunch in the restaurant there one day. I was inspired by the glass in the transom windows. Wouldn’t they make wonderful doily patterns?

We visited just after most of the snow melted. There was still some in the shaded parts amongst the trees. There was so much water in the streams. Lots of small waterfalls. This one will be dry next week. I'm sure someone has named it, but nothing noted on the website and no sign. The Yosemite Falls were flowing. Yes, when you hike the loop trail to close to the falls you get wet. We came prepared!

One of the trails we hiked was covered in snow and ice for a little bit. I was glad for the hiking poles I had. The trail ends up in a grove of Redwood trees. The tree in our neighborhood is quite young, it's only about 100 feet tall. The Park Service has done a great job adding signs that tell you what you’re looking at.

This brought home just how small we are. Here’s the photo of the roots. The sign is just visible in the bottom of the frame. I wondered who came up with the name Fallen Monarch? Given it was likely named around the turn of the 20th Century, it could be anyone. It was fun to imagine coming upon the tree when it was standing and how tall and big it was.