Cathy drove me to Merced after taking me to Lombard Street, the twisting street. We had another lovely visit with her Mum and Dad and went out to dinner at a Mexican Restaurant. Everyone has been so kind to me and I only hope I can repay their generous hospitality one day. Cathy has made my visit to Northern California memorable and I would like to thank her, her husband and her family.
The hostel was a private home.....the hosts were nice and we had a full house ....there were six of us all headed for Yosemite the next day.
Thursday 27th June
The owner of the home hostel in Merced drove me to where I could pick up the YARTS bus in Merced at 7:00am and I had a lovely drive out to Yosemite. I knew it would be beautiful but I was really not prepared for how awesome it would be. The majesty defies description.
There is a free shuttle bus which runs regularly along the main attractions......a great idea because it means that the traffic is kept to a minimum. First of all I took it all round.....about an hour in total.....then I got off at various points along the way including a lovely spot by the river where I had a picnic lunch.
I was able to store all my luggage at the Yosemite lodge for free which was great and later in the afternoon I took one of the tours of the valley floor. The young girl giving the commentary was excellent.......she pointed out some rock climbers on the sheer face of El Capitan...... they were mere dots of colour on the greyish white of the granite. I would never have spotted them without her help.
We saw Mule deer resting in the shade. two types of squirrels.....lovely little creatures and an abundance of Blue Jays. I was glad I had made the decision to stay until the last minute and take the 8:15pm bus back to Merced. This meant less time in Merced waiting for the late bus to Denver and more time to drink in the beauty of Yosemite. The Yosemite slides are a composite of my own pictures and some I downloaded from the internet and some I used with permission from Donald Mark Another link for Yosemite
http://www.dlmark.net
Here are some web sites you may find interesting or even useful if you are ever planning a trip to Yosemite.
http://www.sfmoma.org/adams/index.html
http://yosemitefirefall.org
http://www.spinics.net/yosemite
http://www.halfdomecam.com
http://www.yosemite.org/vryos/index.htm
http://www.yosemitepark.com
http://www.nps.gov/yose/home.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment