(Continued from Yosemite: Down in the Valley)
Featured Photo: “Red Wood, Green Canopy, Blue Sky” Yosemite National Park, California—2023 |
The Yosemite Valley was beloved by John Muir, one of the visionary founders of America’s conservation movement—and their most compelling voice—who lived, worked, and explored there for several years, following his first visit in 1868. He wrote about its “noble walls, sculptured into endless variety of domes and gables, spires and battlements and plain mural precipices, all a-tremble with the thunder tones of the falling water. The level bottom seemed to be dressed like a garden, sunny meadows here and there and groves of pine and oak, the river of Mercy sweeping in majesty through the midst of them and flashing back the sunbeams.” (Source: nps.gov)
Adding names to some of the wonders in Muir’s description, the granite summits of Half Dome, El Capitan, and Three Brothers can be viewed from Yosemite Valley. One can walk through groves of trees to reach Bridalveil and Yosemite Falls, then wander through the wide-open spaces of Sentinel and Cook’s Meadows. Nowadays, there are also modern amenities that weren’t around in Muir’s time: a Visitor Center, a museum, a post office, several stores and eateries, located in the area known as Yosemite Village. Overnight guests can camp in cabins or tents at Curry Village, or sleep more comfortably in the Yosemite Valley Lodge, or in the grand hotel, named the Ahwahnee. All these natural and man-made sights are to be be found in the Yosemite canyon valley, a relatively compact area, which—using Muir’s own words again—“is about seven miles long, half-a-mile to a mile wide, and nearly a mile deep in the solid granite flank of the range…situated in the basin of the Merced River at an elevation of 4000 feet above the level of the sea.”
And it was Yosemite Valley into which my sister and I had ventured on Saturday morning to spend the day—along with a multitude of other tourists—exploring as many of the interesting places as we could manage. After breakfast in the Base Camp Eatery at Yosemite Valley Lodge, we walked along with the crowds toward the short, easy Lower Yosemite Fall Trail, a relatively flat loop that provided spectacular views of both the Lower and Upper Yosemite Falls. We did not even consider hiking the strenuous Upper Yosemite Fall Trail—built in 1873 and one of the oldest historic trails in Yosemite—which leads daring adventurers on a seven-mile trek to the top of North America’s tallest waterfall. Standing safely at ground level in the valley, we still found the views of the falls to be stunning…
…although the amount of water falling in October was far less than might be experienced in the Spring or early Summer; you can see the coloration on the rocks showing how broadly the water can flow. Looking back at the photos from my Yosemite visit in 1973, it seems I must have stood in nearly the same spot 50 years earlier to take an almost identical picture—even the horizontal fissures in the granite appear in both photos—but there was a lot more water falling in June of that year.
The trail led us closer to the base of the Lower Fall…
…where we posed—as have countless before us—on the bridge, with the glimpse of a faint rainbow in the sunny spot near the bottom of the fall.
Continuing beyond the fall, our view of the granite, trees, and blue sky…
…were dazzling.
At one point, the path took us beside a huge boulder that my sister swore she was holding up…
…and then, we were led into another grove of magnificent trees…
…following a boardwalk along the serene trail.
I stopped to take a picture, looking up the trunk of one tree…
…then took a few steps farther and looked up even higher, using the iPhone’s ultra-wide-angle lens to capture today’s Featured Photo, a dizzying image of the stand of tall trees that surrounded me, with their redwood trunks and green-needle canopies.
We had walked for about an hour and were nearing the end of the one-mile loop around the Lower Yosemite Fall. My sister was feeling a bit tired and asked if we could rest—a reasonable request. By then, we had reached the Yosemite Valley Shuttle Bus Stop #6, located beside the path to the falls. My sister suggested we take the shuttle to view other sights in the valley, then she sat down on a bench to rest until the next bus came. Even though I had not planned for a bus ride through Yosemite Valley on my itinerary, I said I thought that would be okay. But I told her I wanted to walk a bit farther to keep exploring, and would return when the bus arrived.
I headed off—drawn to a peaceful, open meadow across the road—where I could keep the shuttle stop in view, while my sister waited. This was the vision that lured me: sunlight illuminating the field, trees standing in the shadows, and the hazy silhouette of Half Dome looming in the distance.
After a few minutes, I watched the shuttle bus pull up. My sister got in line with other weary hikers and then entered the bus, letting the driver know I would be there soon. I started walking quickly, hoping the bus would not pull away, and was glad the driver waited until I reached the front door—still open—and stepped on board.
I waved to my sister, who had already taken a seat, then asked the driver—somewhat breathlessly—how far the bus was going. She answered, “I make all the stops in the Valleywide Loop, then return here.” I did a quick calculation, figuring there were about 10 stops along the journey, then went back to my sister and said, “Feel free to ride, but I’d like to go back to that meadow and keep taking pictures. I’ll meet you here in 30 minutes, when the bus returns.” She replied that was fine, preferring to ride the bus and sit for a while.
I went to the front door again and let the driver know I would not be riding, then stepped off and watched the bus pull away. An impromptu shuttle bus ride. A beautiful meadow that was calling my name. As it turned out, my sister and I would get lost on separate journeys that morning: I would lose all track of time on a delightful photo shoot, and my sister was on the wrong bus!
(To be continued…)
Wrong bus! I didn’t care, just wanted to sit! And it was a hoot of a ride! Love, love this blog Mark!
Well of course, calling it the “wrong bus” was just a literary device to keep the readers interested. LOL! And you certainly got to see more of Yosemite Valley on your bus ride than I did. Glad we both had fun on our separate adventures!
Oh wow, wrong bus. I can’t wait for the continuance of this story. When I first saw your featured photo, I assumed you must have laid down on your back to get that photo. Stunning!
Thanks for commenting, David. First, see my reply to Ann about the “wrong bus”. All will be revealed in the next episode. Second, thanks for the compliment on my featured photo. When I took the picture, it even surprised me how amazing the view was. I was really happy it turned out as well as it did. Thanks again.
Nice teaser about the wrong bus. What happens next? I can’t wait! Tell your sister I relate to her. I would probably spend the whole trip sitting on a bench or bus while you go off contemplating the universe! To each their own! Wonderful pictures again!
Mikey
Hi Mikey. It really means a lot to me that you are still reading along! About the “wrong bus”, please check out my replies to Ann and David. Funny comment about your relating with my sister; note to self: no walking tours for Mike! Thanks for reading, commenting, and giving me compliments on the photos. Much appreciated!
Again, relating to Yosemite, and admiring your energy. I can barely drive to work, come home and do the walk with Beth and I’m DONE! I thought I should give you a realistic picture of doing anything outdoors with me. I’m a total slug, not like I used to be. I have to vicariously live through a vivacious person like you. (love those big “V” words!) As always, I’m envious and jealous!! Forgive me for that!! And keep sending pictures! They’re incredible!! Take care, and enjoying the journey, even secondhand.