Crowds and unbelievable beauty: Yosemite lives up to its reputation

I must admit, I was not looking forward to going to Yosemite National Park during our just-finished vacation. While it has a reputation for being beautiful, Yosemite is also known for huge crowds, waiting in line, and vehicle-choked roads leading in to the place. In all categories, Yosemite lived up to its reputation.

I detest crowds, so hiking in the Yosemite area will never be my first choice; I know of so many wilderness areas where you will see nary a soul during your entire hike. However, there is a reason there are such crowds in Yosemite: It is breathtakingly gorgeous!

While our home base during our vacation was a house near Bass Lake directly to the south, our whole group of ten family members ventured into Yosemite last Tuesday. Here are some of the photographic highlights I took during that day, and remember, you can click on any of the images for better detail:




At the end of the day, I wasn't satisfied with the views we saw, so I resolved to return the next day, and take the road to Glacier Point, which overlooks much of Yosemite Valley from about 3,500 feet up. Everyone else wanted to go to the beach at Bass Lake, so I went solo. Here is what awaited me when I got to the top:








Rather than a wilderness destination, I felt more like I was at some sort of living, interactive art gallery. I can tolerate crowds for something like that!

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson