Wandering His Wonders Tuesday , April 4 , 2017 The Wonders of Yosemite National Park During our week - long stay at Park of the Sierras , we ' re very excited about going to two more national parks . We checked the weather forecast , and headed to Yosemite National Park on the best weather day . It ' s only 30 miles from our camp site to the southern entrance of the park . But with roads that twist and turn through the mountains , the drive takes a while . Then it ' s another 30 miles to get to the one - mile tunnel at the entrance of Yosemite Valley . Sounds like a short drive , but that takes over an hour of driving as well . So even though we ' re camping just 30 miles from one of the entrances to the national park , it ' s almost a two - hour drive to get to the " good stuff . " The good news is we didn ' t need those tire chains that we now have on board . We finally made it through the tunnel , where we stopped for the iconic " tunnel view " picture of Yosemite Valley . We got a detailed list of things to see and do from the Visitor Center in Oakhurst where we stopped for information earlier this morning . The helpful volunteer instructed us to take a picture here , as a billion pictures have been taken from this view point . We guess this makes one billion and two pictures . To the left you can see El Capitan . In the very center and farthest away is Cloud ' s Rest , and just to right of it you can barely see the sheered off face of Half Dome in the distance . To the near right we see Bridal Veil Fall . Yosemite Valley is only seven miles long and one mile wide , and we ' re planning to see all those things and more before the day is over . Our plan was to work our way down the valley , stopping to take hikes and stare in wonder at the granite walls as we go . With all the rain and snow this winter , we had heard that the waterfalls would be at their best this year , and we weren ' t disappointed . Our first stop was at Bridalveil Fall , where the mist even from this distance gave us a soaking . That water is falling from 620 feet above us , and the roar meant we had to yell to carry on a conversation . All of this water is racing towards the Merced River that runs through the middle of the valley . Normally a placid little stream , this spring it is roaring with all the snow melt from the mountains above . After our short hike to Bridalveil Fall , we began getting a real feel for Yosemite as we looked around at our surroundings . The sun was just getting high enough in the sky to reach over the tall granite walls over the falls . You ' ll see in this picture that some of the pine trees in the park are sadly bare . The pine bark beetle has made it to Yosemite as well . Across from us was the massive rock -- El Capitan . Rising 3 , 569 feet above the valley floor , it is the largest single granite rock on earth . Rock - climbers from all over the world come to inch their way up that face . Yosemite Valley is formed by these giant granite walls that rise over a half - mile above the valley floor . For most of the length of the valley there is a grassy meadow and the roaring river that separate the walls of the valley . That also leaves room for some forest , and a road that runs the length of the valley . During the summer this road can get incredibly congested with cars , so the national park provides a free shuttle service with drop - off points along its length . Since we were visiting during the off - season , traffic wasn ' t bad . But we decided to park our car at the little parking lot next to the Chapel . This is the oldest building still in use inside the park . Built in 1879 , it still holds regular services throughout the week . From its front lawn is a great view of the park ' s name - sake falls . Yosemite Falls is flowing at maximum capacity this year ! We walked across the meadow towards the roar of the falls . That ' s Denisa in the lower left hand corner of the picture , with Lower Yosemite Fall in the background . The lower fall is 320 feet tall , so it ' s a very respectably sized waterfall all by itself . Of course , Mark scrambled over the rocks to get a little closer to the falls . Even at this distance we were having to continually wipe the camera lens because of all the mist in the air . This waterfall is fed entirely by melting snow , so it ' s almost as cold as ice this time of year . Often by late summer , this waterfall is completely dry . So we are blessed to see Yosemite Falls at its most boisterous . Mark scrambled to a new vantage point to see more of the falls . You see , the first two pictures just show the lower one - third of North America ' s tallest falls . It ' s hard to catch it all in one picture from down below because the water actually roars down from Yosemite Creek over one of the tallest granite walls in the park . So this picture shows a bit of the top of the falls as well . We walked a little further along the path to take a picture that got more of the drop from the top . Yosemite upper falls drops 1 , 430 feet . Then there are the middle falls of an additional 675 feet . When you add in the lower falls , you can see water coming off this granite face from 2 , 425 feet above . That makes it the tallest waterfall in the United States , and the fifth tallest in the world . It also shows a bit more of the crowd at the bottom . This was the most congested area we found this day , but we ' re guessing this path can be very crowded during peak season . Mark had read that bicycles are allowed on the Valley View Trail that encircles the entire valley . Since we always have ours with us on the car , we decided to give that mode of transportation a try . Unlike the congested Yosemite Falls path , this was a wonderfully lonely trail that took us through the tall forests at the valley floor . We found that for us , bicycles were the perfect way to get around Yosemite National Park . We didn ' t have to worry about finding a parking space in the crowded parking lots . We didn ' t have to worry about the stop - and - go traffic . They are doing road construction during this off - season that is making it almost impossible to drive to certain areas of the valley . So we loved having our bikes to ride along the uncrowded valley trail . We did find , however , that certain sections were definitely for hiking only . But in these areas we were free to ride on the roads that were now closed to car traffic . We rode our bikes all the way to the end of the valley , where the grassy meadow is taken over by lakes . Our favorite was Mirror Lake . We could get a perfect picture of the granite walls reflected in the water . A zoomed - in picture shows Denisa was standing out on that little rock peninsula . This was a fun find , and almost no one was here with us . It would be quite a walk from the nearest shuttle drop - off point , but was a quick bike ride for us . There was no wind , so absolutely no ripples in the water . We ' ve traded places now , with Mark standing on top of the boulder at the end of the peninsula . The reflection in the water is actually clearer than the actual granite peaks far behind him . We have already done a lot of walking and biking , but now we were ready for some real hiking . So we locked up the bikes at the beginning of the Vernal Falls trail and headed straight up the mountain . This trail sounds deceptively short at only 3 miles . But almost every step is a rise in elevation . After getting through the lower paved section , we passed the bridge and headed up the rocky stairs . This was like an endless stairway to heaven . You can see Denisa in her burgundy blouse at the bottom of this section of steps . You can also see that we are finally in sight of Vernal Falls and the blue sky above it . With all the mist in the air from the falls , there are rainbows in the air . Mark caught this rainbow at the bottom of the picture . There ' s a reason this is called the Mist Trail . Taking pictures of rainbows is as much fun as pictures at Mirror Lake . Mark got this full arch rainbow . He also got a picture of the continuing rock staircase we are headed up . You can see a hiker that came prepared with a full green rain poncho . The views were beautiful , but hard to capture . The camera had to be wiped off after every picture , and it was getting harder to find anything dry enough to wipe it off . We have been blessed with beautiful blue - sky weather , but it felt like it was raining where we were standing . Mark was taking pictures because Denisa couldn ' t see through her glasses any more . That made it trickier to wind our way through the puddles on the stairs . There were traffic jams in areas where the water completely covered the steps . Denisa wishes she would have counted the number of steps in this never - ending flight of stairs to the top . This staircase clung to the side of the mountain as we got close to the top . We finally made it to the top of Vernal Falls ! We could stand at the point where the falls rushed over the edge of the mountain . From here we could see that water was actually a tannin - stained brown instead of the foamy white . It was 317 feet down to the first drop at Vernal Falls . We were frankly surprised at the number of people at the top of the falls . You can see them scattered to the right of the water , basking in their accomplishment of making it to the top . We consider ourselves to be seasoned hikers , and this was a tough climb . We were certainly dreading that wet hike back down those endless steps . Sometimes going down can be harder , and the wet - slick steps would be a fall hazard with every step . There are very few hand railings , and the prospect of falling head - long down all those rock stairs is a bit un - nerving . We asked several hikers about the option of an alternate way down , but everyone said the steps were the only way to go . But our trail map showed a longer alternative , so we decided to give it a try . The bad news is we had to go higher in elevation before we could go lower . But that gave us a photo opportunity of the falls from above . They don ' t seem so tall from the view here . Also from atop the mountain we saw Nevada Falls and more beautiful granite domes in the distance . We thinks those are Half Dome , Mount Broderick , and Liberty Cap , but there aren ' t exactly name tags on these giant mountain tops . We would see countless temporary waterfalls this day that aren ' t on the map . There is so much water from the melting snow pack that the granite walls are glistening wet in the sunlight . We wish there was a way to bring some scale to the size of this wall in front of us . As we look to the top , we see tiny specks of trees that are probably 30 - 40 feet tall . Against the advice we got , we did manage to find our way down on the John Muir Trail . It was a longer route , but much kinder and gentler in the long run . Besides , we had the entire hike to ourselves . So we enjoyed the green velvet rocks and the occasional snow banks alone . We had plenty of time to see these magnificent mountains and the granite walls down to the valley as we hiked to the base . We have truly wandered among His wonders this day ! After a day of clear blue skies , we saw that the clouds were rolling into the valley over the mountains . As we rode our bikes back down the valley , we saw that the clouds were now covering the top of Yosemite Falls . The crowds were thinner at the end of the day . The people in the meadows were now replaced by a herd of deer . We were a little envious of the people that were spending the night at Yosemite National Park , and didn ' t have to make the long drive home now . We rode our bikes past several different campgrounds . Some had small trailers and pitched tents . But we also saw row upon row of these curious permanent tent structures that can be rented in the park . For a less rustic ( and more expensive ) stay , one can rent a room at the Majestic Yosemite Hotel . The national park has changed from their long - time concessionaire in the last year . A law suit declared that the concessionaire owned the naming rights that have been used in Yosemite Valley for many years . So there is all new signage that changes the lodge name from " The Ahwahnee " to " The Majestic Yosemite Hotel . " To eat dinner in its dramatic 34 - foot - tall dining room , one must follow formal dress code , and we didn ' t see anything on the menu that we could afford . So we headed out of the park , with one more wayward glance to the roaring falls that are now in the clouds . We took the longer drive home through the north entrance , glad to see more beautiful landscape before it got too dark . This thundering waterfall wasn ' t even on the map , so we assume it is another of the temporary falls that will be gone soon . We have had a full day at Yosemite National Park . Some of the roads were still closed because of snow , but we wouldn ' t have had time for any more beautiful sights today anyway . We managed to hike over ten miles , and biked many more . We were tired by the end of the day ! That gives us an excuse to come back for a summer trip to see the rest of the park . It would get dark before we made the two - hour drive back to our camp site at Park of the Sierras . We were glad to find a Burger King in one of the sleepy little mountain towns we passed through . It wasn ' t exactly a meal at The Majestic Yosemite Hotel , but we had feasted all day on God ' s wonders and our souls were full . Posted by Denisa and Mark at 1 : 21 AM