Yosemite National Park
July 21, 2005
We began our first full day in Yosemite at the Visitor's Center where we saw the movie "Spirit of Yosemite." Following the movie we took the shuttle to the Yosemite Lodge where we boarded an open-air tram for our Valley Floor Tour, a 26-mile, 2-hour overview of the major sites of the Yosemite Valley. Larry Montgomery, a retired high school principal from Frankfurt, Kentucky was our tour guide. Larry had a lifelong dream to become a park ranger, which was only recently fulfilled after he retired. The tour is a good way to start your first visit to Yosemite.
After our tour we ate lunch at the Food Court of the Yosemite Lodge and then walked to Yosemite Falls. Yosemite Falls is the 5th highest waterfall in the world, and the highest in the U.S., at 2425 ft. It is impressive to view, however today there were MANY people around, which somewhat detracted from the natural beauty. We browsed the shops and museums (including the Ansel Adams gallery) in Yosemite Village for awhile in the afternoon. Then we rode the shuttle bus to Curry Village and had dinner at the Pizza Patio.
Following dinner we returned to the Yosemite Lodge and sat on the porch for about an hour. We had tickets to a program called "Starry Skies Over Yosemite Valley" that didn't start until 9PM. About 8:30 we walked to the location near Yosemite Falls where we were to meet for the program. A park ranger then led us on a short walk to an open field near the elementary school here in Yosemite. Although the walk was short, it turned out to be pretty exciting. As we were shuffling down a dark path, a rustle was heard off to our right. The ranger shined her flashlight over in that direction and there was a brown bear! The bear was pulling some apples off of trees, planted by an early settler in the valley, to eat for dinner. It stood still while the ranger's' light was on it, and then wandered off into the brush. There are many bears in the park; people are warned not to leave any food in their cars because the bears have an acute sense of smell, will find the food, and can easily break in to cars to get it.
It was a night for wildlife as we heard a screech owl and bats once we got to the field. The program was very well done. The ranger was quite knowledgeable and used a green laser pointer to direct our attention to various stars and constellations. After about an hour and 15 minutes of hearing legends related to the stars and viewing constellations from the Big Dipper to Cygnus, we walked back to our car and headed to the hotel after a long day.
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A selection of photos from our trip can be viewed at Flickr. You might like to watch them as a slideshow. Send us an email by clicking HERE.
We began our first full day in Yosemite at the Visitor's Center where we saw the movie "Spirit of Yosemite." Following the movie we took the shuttle to the Yosemite Lodge where we boarded an open-air tram for our Valley Floor Tour, a 26-mile, 2-hour overview of the major sites of the Yosemite Valley. Larry Montgomery, a retired high school principal from Frankfurt, Kentucky was our tour guide. Larry had a lifelong dream to become a park ranger, which was only recently fulfilled after he retired. The tour is a good way to start your first visit to Yosemite.
After our tour we ate lunch at the Food Court of the Yosemite Lodge and then walked to Yosemite Falls. Yosemite Falls is the 5th highest waterfall in the world, and the highest in the U.S., at 2425 ft. It is impressive to view, however today there were MANY people around, which somewhat detracted from the natural beauty. We browsed the shops and museums (including the Ansel Adams gallery) in Yosemite Village for awhile in the afternoon. Then we rode the shuttle bus to Curry Village and had dinner at the Pizza Patio.
Following dinner we returned to the Yosemite Lodge and sat on the porch for about an hour. We had tickets to a program called "Starry Skies Over Yosemite Valley" that didn't start until 9PM. About 8:30 we walked to the location near Yosemite Falls where we were to meet for the program. A park ranger then led us on a short walk to an open field near the elementary school here in Yosemite. Although the walk was short, it turned out to be pretty exciting. As we were shuffling down a dark path, a rustle was heard off to our right. The ranger shined her flashlight over in that direction and there was a brown bear! The bear was pulling some apples off of trees, planted by an early settler in the valley, to eat for dinner. It stood still while the ranger's' light was on it, and then wandered off into the brush. There are many bears in the park; people are warned not to leave any food in their cars because the bears have an acute sense of smell, will find the food, and can easily break in to cars to get it.
It was a night for wildlife as we heard a screech owl and bats once we got to the field. The program was very well done. The ranger was quite knowledgeable and used a green laser pointer to direct our attention to various stars and constellations. After about an hour and 15 minutes of hearing legends related to the stars and viewing constellations from the Big Dipper to Cygnus, we walked back to our car and headed to the hotel after a long day.
-----
A selection of photos from our trip can be viewed at Flickr. You might like to watch them as a slideshow. Send us an email by clicking HERE.
posted by Bill Bauer at 7:01 PM
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