Thursday, March 31, 2011

Beautiful Yosemite


"Looking eastward from the summit of the Pacheco Pass one shining morning, a landscape was displayed that after all my wanderings still appears as the most beautiful I have ever beheld. At my feet lay the Great Central Valley of California, level and flowery, like a lake of pure sunshine, forty or fifty miles wide, five hundred miles long, one rich furred garden of yellow CompositÅ“. And from the eastern boundary of this vast golden flower-bed rose the mighty Sierra, miles in height, and so gloriously colored and so radiant, it seemed not clothed with light, but wholly composed of it, like the wall of some celestial city."  ~John Muir, excerpt from The Yosemite, 1912
Tenaya Lake, Tuolumne Meadows
John Muir records his vision of Yosemite, first seen in the glorious Springtime of April.  We visited in September, no less beautiful---the fresh blue water of mountain lakes, the dark green of forests and scrub, the snow-laced mountains rising majestically...   
hiking the Mist Trail
  
to Vernal Fall (317' high, on the Merced River just below Nevada Fall)
 erratics at Olmstead Point (Erratics are glacier transported rock fragments that differ from the local bedrock) 
"Grizzly Giant" in the Mariposa Grove of Sequoias (probably 1900-2700 years old, the oldest tree in the grove, its basal circumference is @ 92 feet)
California Tunnel Tree (cut in 1895 to allow stagecoaches to pass through)
This was a Mother-in-Law trip (brainstorm of my husband.  Yes, it was fun!) which we took in 2005.  We traveled to California visiting the Lake Tahoe area and Yosemite National Park.  Above are our mothers (mine, left; his, right) standing inside a sequoia.
LINKS:
The Yosemite by John Muir
Yosemite National Park website      Mariposa Grove
Yosemite Hikes (general) Mist Trail (specific)
Vernal Fall wikipedia
great information on giant sequoias and Mariposa Grove
Sequoiadendron giganteum


NOTES:  
Yosemite National Park (established in 1890 ) comprises over 760,000 acres located in the central Sierra Nevada of California.
Giant Sequoias, Sequoiadendron giganteum, aren't the oldest living things, the tallest, or the widest.  They are, however, in volume, the largest living things known to humans.


Come join in the fun at Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday.  You will be enlightened, charmed, and have some plain ole fun!  See more entries HERE.  This week our letter is "Y."   




photos by me © 2005 

26 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos! We have not visited Yosemite yet but it's on my list of must sees. We have been to see some big redwoods in California and they are so majestic!

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  2. Oooo, I MUST go there sometime in my life!!! SOOO amazing and beautiful!!! God was so creative in His work!!!

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  3. Your photos of this magnificent park are beautiful Margaret. I've only been once and it was a very quick trip, I really want to go back and explore it more.

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  4. That is a great Y. What beautiful photos.

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  5. One of the places I hope to see one day. I remember learning about Yosemite in elementary school and have wanted to go ever since.

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  6. I have been to Yosemite several times and I always see new beauty around every turn! Great post!!!

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  7. I've always wanted to go to Yosemite. Great pictures! :)

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  8. Yosemite is on my list of places I need to visit. How breathtaking!

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  9. I've always wanted to go there - looks like you had fun!

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  10. I love Yosemite also!

    Great idea for Y....

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  11. One of the National Parks I have not been to...yet! Wonderful pictures and thank you for taking us along.

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  12. Oh wow, that looks like a gorgeous park ... the old trees are amazing ... imagine the life they have led ...

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  13. I visited Yosemite last summer. It is a spectactular place and your photos brought back memeories of all the wonderful sights we saw. The National Parks are a treasure!

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  14. One of my favoite places. Now say your prayers, varmint.

    Sam

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  15. I visted Yosemite back in 2005 and adored it. Thanks for the reminder even if it has made me want to return there tomorrow :)

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  16. howdy! thanks for reading picky and leaving it some love. i'm glad you liked the post. :]

    as for your post, the photos are lovely! thanks for sharing them.

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  17. I've always wanted to visit that area of the country. Maybe someday. Beautiful photos.

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  18. Thanks for showing these beautiful pics! Yosemite is a special place
    kim

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  19. Yosemite is mythical to me - a place I've wished to see since childhood. I enjoyed your photos and the quote from the beginning of the post.

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  20. I visited Yosemite in 1995 for a 4 day backpacking trip. I could not believe my eyes when I saw it, and this is from a girl who grew up in the mountains of Montana. I had never seen anything like it. I want to go back, and soon. Must take my kids there. Thanks for reminding me of this wonderful place!

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  21. Hi Margaret,

    Hope you have had a great weekend.

    Spooky the kitty is one of six kittens a feral mama cat deposited in my yard last fall. Since then mama cat and all of the kittens have been captured, spayed/neutered and had their shots.

    The kittens are all very loving with me but totally wild if anyone else, including hubby, comes in the yard so they can never be adopted by others.

    They are my little Kitty Krew.

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  22. I could not get over how big the sequoias were when we visited CA last year - really majestic.

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  23. Yosemite is one of the places on my wish list to see. Wonderful information and fantastic photo!

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  24. I have a lot of fond memories of Yosemite. It's so funny that no-one else thought of this word...I certainly didn't.

    Thanks for letting us tag along on this beautiful road trip.

    What a glorious place Mother Nature created for us all.

    Thank you for linking.

    A+

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  25. That's a fantastic tree! Amazing!
    xo Catherine

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Your comments make my day! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!