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MeznG. In the air, on the road, river or sea again
Early start - up at 5am, picked up at 6 am for our Yosemite day trip. Our group of 36 head out of San Francisco before 7am. The traffic at that time heading into the city is horrendous and is banked up for miles and miles. Thankfully we are going the other way. Its forecast to be a nice day and no rain. It's not as cold this morning that's for sure.
We stop at Oakdale about 2 hours down the track to get breakfast before continuing for another 2 hour drive. The drive takes us through the San Joaquin Valley past almond groves, Grape vines and fruit trees before we start the climb into the Sierra Nevada mountains and what a climb it is. The scenery is spectacular and the road is very windy. As we approach the Yosemite National Park, Paul our guide and driver fills us in on the schedule for the day. After passing the ranger station we drive first to Tuolumne Grove Trail. Here we have 1 hour to complete a hike down to see the giant Sequoia trees. It's a good path down to Big Red but the grade is quite steep. We are advised to take 20 minutes maximum to get down and 40 minutes to come back up and that's about right. It's a very steep climb but we did it and it was worth it. The day is now clear and warming up. Now we drive into the Yosemite Valley. The scenery is nothing short of breathtaking. The sheer size of the mountains, the snow still visible at the top and the waterfalls.
We stop for photos at a few spots and we are in awe of the beauty that surrounds us.
In the valley we have an hour to spend on our own and grab some lunch. We grab a sandwich from the cafe and head to the base of the Lower Yosemite Falls. The falls have plenty of water as the snow is still melting. Come June or July there will be no water as the melt would be over. It's a spectacular sight. It's here that we meet a little squirrel just hanging around waiting to see if anyone is going to drop some food.
From here we head back to the swinging bridge to check out the river and for more amazing views. It's hot now, around 30 degrees, quite unexpected given how cool it was in San Francisco this morning.
We did see a deer and different birds but no bear, moose or elk. It's probably a bit early for bears or wrong time of the day but there are certainly signs warning of their presence and not to leave any food around or even in your car as they will seek it out and do plenty of damage.
On the way out of the park we stop to look at El Capitan as this is a popular climbing spot. We can see a lot of climbers on the face of the rock. They look like little coloured dots on the grey surface of the mountain. It can take days to climb the face of the mountain so the climbers 'camp' by setting up tents or hammocks on ledges along the way.
Last stop is another amazing photo spot. This is an absolutely amazing place, more time here would be great.
The drive back is quiet as many of us nod off until we stop once again for a 30 minute break in Oakdale.
We don't encounter too much traffic on the way back into the city and we are given the opportunity to get a cityscape photo from Treasure Island. We are back at 7pm and that's earlier than expected. We went to Pier39 for a drink and then dined G & M style in our room before a relaxing bath.
Fantastic day.
We stop at Oakdale about 2 hours down the track to get breakfast before continuing for another 2 hour drive. The drive takes us through the San Joaquin Valley past almond groves, Grape vines and fruit trees before we start the climb into the Sierra Nevada mountains and what a climb it is. The scenery is spectacular and the road is very windy. As we approach the Yosemite National Park, Paul our guide and driver fills us in on the schedule for the day. After passing the ranger station we drive first to Tuolumne Grove Trail. Here we have 1 hour to complete a hike down to see the giant Sequoia trees. It's a good path down to Big Red but the grade is quite steep. We are advised to take 20 minutes maximum to get down and 40 minutes to come back up and that's about right. It's a very steep climb but we did it and it was worth it. The day is now clear and warming up. Now we drive into the Yosemite Valley. The scenery is nothing short of breathtaking. The sheer size of the mountains, the snow still visible at the top and the waterfalls.
We stop for photos at a few spots and we are in awe of the beauty that surrounds us.
In the valley we have an hour to spend on our own and grab some lunch. We grab a sandwich from the cafe and head to the base of the Lower Yosemite Falls. The falls have plenty of water as the snow is still melting. Come June or July there will be no water as the melt would be over. It's a spectacular sight. It's here that we meet a little squirrel just hanging around waiting to see if anyone is going to drop some food.
From here we head back to the swinging bridge to check out the river and for more amazing views. It's hot now, around 30 degrees, quite unexpected given how cool it was in San Francisco this morning.
We did see a deer and different birds but no bear, moose or elk. It's probably a bit early for bears or wrong time of the day but there are certainly signs warning of their presence and not to leave any food around or even in your car as they will seek it out and do plenty of damage.
On the way out of the park we stop to look at El Capitan as this is a popular climbing spot. We can see a lot of climbers on the face of the rock. They look like little coloured dots on the grey surface of the mountain. It can take days to climb the face of the mountain so the climbers 'camp' by setting up tents or hammocks on ledges along the way.
Last stop is another amazing photo spot. This is an absolutely amazing place, more time here would be great.
The drive back is quiet as many of us nod off until we stop once again for a 30 minute break in Oakdale.
We don't encounter too much traffic on the way back into the city and we are given the opportunity to get a cityscape photo from Treasure Island. We are back at 7pm and that's earlier than expected. We went to Pier39 for a drink and then dined G & M style in our room before a relaxing bath.
Fantastic day.
- comments
Sue I'm glad you visited Yosemite. Amazing beautiful scenery.