Yosemite National Park - Day 2

Our second day in Yosemite wasn't nearly as eventful as our first, at least from a personal injury perspective, but it was no less eventful, and probably more so, from a sight-seeing perspective.

The day started at 3:05am, with the alarm on my iPhone blaring away in the night. I'd only gotten about three hours sleep, and it wasn't long before I was wishing I'd had just a bit more. But that wasn't going to happen, so I embraced the idea of "Hell Day" and muscled on.

"Hell Day" is what the second day became known as. We would start early and try to see as much as we could. The day was to start with a sunrise shoot at Tunnel View.

Now, I should preface all of this by saying that the day started out sans coffee. Andy has a coffee pot, but it takes no less than a full understanding of a doctoral thesis in mechanical engineering to figure out how to use it. For that, I had neither the patience nor the time. Unfortunately, Clem hadn't yet opened the Fish Camp General Store by the time we were driving by, so we would have to wait until we got down into the Village, some hours later, before we would be caffeinated.

And I don't really know if the guy at the general store was really named Clem, but he should've been.

We arrived at Tunnel View around 4:45am, and I quickly unloaded the trunk of the car and got set up. It was still dark when I was ready, so I spent the time talking Milo, another photographer from San Diego. Before we knew it, the sun was starting to rise, and we were shooting.

The sunrise shoot wasn't all I'd hoped for. The sun actually rose from behind El Capitan, which made for some undesirable lighting. Be that as it may, I was determined to make the best of it. I'll be 49 years old soon, and it's taken me all this time to get up here, I wasn't about to not make the best of it.

Even before the sun came up, though, it was obvious just how impressive a sight the Yosemite Valley offered. As the sun started to sneak over the horizon, you could make out Half Dome in the distance. Slowly, Bridal Veil Falls came into view as the silhouette of El Capitan became more pronounced. No, it wouldn't matter how bad the lighting was. This was a lifetime event unfolding before me.

Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View. On the left is El Capitan. In the center of the shot, in the distance,
is Half Dome. On the right, below Cathedral Rocks, is Bridal Veil Falls...

The sun peeks around the granite monolith that is El Capitan...

It was awe-inspiring to just sit there and watch the valley come into view. This is one of the views which inspired people like Ansel Adams to preserve the view on film, and people like John Muir to dedicate his life to protecting it.

After the sun was up, it was time to eat. We'd already gone far too long without coffee, now the lack of sustenance was beginning to rear its' ugly head. We headed down to the Ahwahnee Hotel to seek out a restaurant.

The Ahwahnee Hotel is a National Historic Landmark, and is a four diamond resort next to Yosemite Village. Its' location could not be more perfect but, be forewarned: If you're going to stay there, you're going to pony up a minimum of four bills a night. Sure it's a nice hotel, but, wow.

We ventured into the hotel and decided to walk around a little before we had breakfast. The place is massive, and grand in every detail. Walking through the "sitting room", it's easy to see why this hotel has played host to Presidents and Kings:

The interior of the Ahwahnee Hotel. The fireplace at the end of the room is almost seven feet tall...

Walking around was nice but, with stomach's grumbling, it was definitely time to eat. The place is high-class all the way, but you can imagine my surprise when I was asked by the hostess if I had reservations. For breakfast. My lack of a reservation didn't serve as an impediment, though, as we were quickly greeted and, for the love of God, got to have some coffee.

Even the dining room (well, this one) was grand in its' scale. The room was immense and, despite my initial need for a reservation, empty tables were plentiful. The room was a study in rock and exposed wood, the motif keeping with the surroundings of Yosemite:

The largely empty dining room at the Ahwahnee Hotel...

Now, if you've read my blog entries in the past, you'll know that I dig a good breakfast. There are few things in this world I enjoy more. And, sometimes, a damn good breakfast can be had for a relative pittance. For a breakfast like that, though, this is not the place to be. You see, the hotel and dining room aren't the only things here that are large in scale. The check, too, was actually more suited for a quick dinner in a mildly nice restaurant than for breakfast anywhere. Breakfast for two at the Ahwahnee? $56.95, with the tip.

For eggs, hash browns, bacon, toast and orange juice.

After breakfast, we decided we'd head over to the Village. We found the Village Visitor Center, which contained just about anything and everything you'd ever want to know about the Yosemite Valley. Everything from park stewards to geology was discussed on the walls of the displays, and much of what you would never know could be learned there.

Also featured was quite a bit of information on a gentleman by the name of John Muir. Had it not been for people like John Muir, it's likely that Yosemite National Park, as well as many other National Parks, would simply not exist. Muir was a naturalist at heart, and it was this drive which compelled him to see Yosemite Valley protected.

John Muir - Photo from Wikipedia

Muir first arrived in Yosemite in March of 1868, and it was Muir who who first brought Theodore Roosevelt to the Valley, to show him exactly that which, Muir was convinced, would suffer from the continued expansion of civilization. It was John Muir who petitioned Congress to protect such lands. It was John Muir who once stated that "No temple made with hands can compare to Yosemite. It is, therefore, John Muir who is considered to be the father of the National Parks System.

Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir. Photo: Library of Congress...

A bronze statue of John Muir in the Valley Visitor Center...

After walking around the Visitor Center for a time, we decided that we would head back to the car and continue on in our exploration. We stopped numerous times along the way; it was simply impossible not to. The opportunities for photos were simply never-ending. One of the more popular stops was the base of Yosemite Falls:

Taking a break on the way to Yosemite Falls...

Lower Yosemite Falls...

The view across from the entrance to Yosemite Falls...

After Yosemite Falls, we decided to venture to Glacier Point. I'd seen photos taken from there in the past, and I wanted the "photo op", as well. It was a long drive up from the Valley, along a winding, twisting narrow road. That drive, however, was rewarded by some of the most stunning views of the Yosemite Valley imaginable.

The first stop was actually about a mile before arriving at Glacier Point. Washburn Point offered a stunning view; simply stunning. Like Glacier Point, it offers a truly spectacular view of Half Dome, the Yosemite Valley and Tenaya Canyon:

Half Dome, a favorite subject of photographer Ansel Adams, as seen from Washburn Point...

After spending a bit of time at Washburn Point, we decided to head over to Glacier Point. The crowds were plentiful, and parking was at a premium. We lucked out, though, and were able to find a parking spot on our first swing through the lot.

Glacier Point is the more famous cousin to Washburn Point, but offering similar vistas. It's easy to see why, in May of 1903, John Muir saw fit to bring Theodore Roosevelt here during a three day hiking trip in Yosemite. From here, the scale of Yosemite takes on an aura which simply can't be had from the valley floor. This is Yosemite, and Muir saw that, appreciated that, and dedicated his life to protecting it:

Half Dome and Yosemite Falls, as seen from Glacier Point...

Shooting at Glacier Point. I had no idea my nose did that when I shot...

In all honesty, I don't know that I had much breath left in me after the trip to Glacier Point. Like so much else around the Valley, it simply took your breath away. Well, add to that how hot it was, and the hiking, and I could feel myself starting to wind down a bit. It wasn't "Vegas hot" (then again, very little is), but I could feel the burn on my skin and the sweat on my brow and neck. It was time to get back in the car and enjoy the cool of the air conditioner as we drove the 16 miles back down the mountain to the main valley road.

Once we arrived in Wawona, a "town" of 169 within the park borders, we pulled into a general store parking lot and got a sandwich and something to drink. We hadn't eaten since breakfast, and the lack of food was beginning to make us a bit testy. After eating, though, we felt far better, and looked forward to what would be our final stop in the park, the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias.

Mariposa Grove is about two miles to the right as you enter through the park's southern gate (everything else is to the left), and is a 20 minute ride on the park shuttle from where we'd stopped to eat. We got off the shuttle and made our way to the ticket booth to buy tickets for the Grove tram tour. I was beat and tired, and I wasn't about to go hiking through the Grove. The tram was $26.00 a head. It could've been $100.00 a head, and I still wouldn't have hiked the Grove; it just wasn't happening. And, to be frank, the tram was a great way to see Mariposa Grove.

These trees are, in a word, awesome. There's nothing else which comes close to describing them. Stretching into the sky to 300 feet, and are thousands of years old. Think about that for a second: thousands of years old. What other living thing has such longevity. This, alone, makes them incredible. While their height certainly compliments that, it's the circumference of these trees which is difficult to wrap your head around.

One tree, known as "The Grizzly Giant", has a base circumference of 96-1/2 feet. If you have a room in your house that's 20 feet by 20 feet, the base of this tree wouldn't fit in it. It's massive:

The base of "The Grizzly Giant"...

The Grizzly Giant is so big, it wouldn't fit in the frame of my trusty Canon G12. I don't know how far away I would've had to have walked to fit the entire tree in the frame, but I know I wouldn't have wanted to walk that far.

Now, consider this: at a whopping 209 feet tall, the tree has a total volume of 34,005 cubic feet. As impressive as that sounds, it makes it only the 25th largest living Giant Sequoia. There are 24 of them which are bigger.

Huge Giant Sequoias dot the landscape in Mariposa Grove, many of them having been given names such a "The Grizzly Giant" and "The Galen Clark Tree" (named after the first European to step foot in the Grove in 1857, and said to be the first tree he saw). One, known as the "Fallen Monarch", toppled over more than 300 years ago. Due to the Sequoia's natural resistance to decay, though, the remains of the tree are still stalwart and, like everything else in the Grove, big:

The "Fallen Monarch" in Mariposa Grove. The top of the root structure is over 30 feet from the ground...

After our visit to Mariposa Grove, it was pretty clear that we were done. It was going on 5:00pm on a day that started at 3:00am. It was "the day from Hell" only insofar as the length of it was concerned. Everything else that was seen and experienced was, quite frankly, heaven...