day74

Day 74 (November 2, 2006) - Yosemite N.P.

We lost precious time in the campground, browsing the net. The weather forecast was right: its' raining this morning anyways. We arrived at Yosemite around midday, just in time for the rain to stop. We drive past the historic Wawona hotel, with golf course across the street (!!), we cross the tunnel and pull in to the first overlook of Yosemite Valley. It's the first look for Petr and he is stunned by the beauty of the place. I am also in awe, I just can't get enough of this park.

We stop at Bridalveil Fall, take the short hike up and then drive into the valley, hoping that we will find a place to stay at the only campground still open: Upper Pines. And we do. We will spend one night only, exploring the park today and tomorrow.

We settle in and walk to the Visitor Center, then the photo exhibit at the museum (America's Best Idea by photographer Stan Jorstad - www.stanjorstad.com - I buy the book, check it out at www.stanjorstad.com/jorstad_photo_online.htm). We then walk to Yosemite Fall, the fifth tallest in the world: it's dry at this time of year and you need to stretch your imagination to see the upper portion. I have pictures from last year. Yosemite hosts 2 of the 10 world's tallest falls. The campground is pretty basic, the ranger tells us we should not leave our spot after dark because this year only there have already been 382 incidents involving bears, with damages of abount $80,000 in total. People are careless, leave their food unattended in cars and the bears would do anything to get to it. Back to the campground around 5:00pm, we are ready for the night. I seal our food in the fridge and in the cabinets, I trash the garbage in bear-proof containers, wash the dishes and clean up everything around. We are in bed by 8:00pm, I set the alarm at 5:30am for tomorrow. Good night!