Yosemite National Park--The Prettiest Place On The Earth

I've been visiting Yosemite National Park almost every year since I was 7 months old and haven't missed too many years in my 64 years on the earth. Many of you, like me, grew up with yearly Yosemite vacations and now you continue the tradition with your extended families. To all of you Yosemite Lovers...take a moment to reminisce.

To those of you who have never been to the Park, please take a few minutes to peruse this lens and learn about one on the country's beautiful national parks.

You can get to the top of Glacier Point by car or hiking. We would most often travel by car. There were some years some of our party would hike to the top. Wow, what a spectacular view at the top.

In years past, we were even privileged to witness the Firefall. The Firefall is long gone and if you were not in Yosemite in the 50's and 60's or earlier, then you probably do not know what I'm talking about. It looked like a waterfall--only it was a fire being pushed over the cliff from Glacier Point. People would gather at the point and there would be a ranger naturalist program. Then we would listen as a man from Glacier Point and a man from Camp Curry communicated calling out to each other using an amplifying cone. Then we'd watch as the man pushed the large fire and coals over the cliff.

We most often observed the Firefall from the valley. Camp Curry was a popular place to observe the Firefall. There would be a ranger program there also and then the Firefall ceremony.

Several evenings my parents, my brother and sisters and our extended families would meet at one of the campsites and bring our favorite dinner entries and share with the other families. We also enjoyed stories and singing around the campfire, card games and other games.

I remember, as a child, lots of hikes. Once during each trip my Dad would take a day and go out of the valley to fish at El Portal. When Dad went fishing Mom would walk us all over the valley. We'd pack a lunch and stop somewhere near the river for a lunch break. When we got back to camp, we would get ready for a swim at the river near our camp.

In more recent years, I still enjoy the hikes but now we also take our bikes. There are paved bike paths throughout the main traffic areas of the valley.

A free shuttle has been available for years--a necessary transportation system to keep automobile traffic to a minimum. We use the shuttle to get to the chapel on Sunday mornings, grocery store to pick up something for our evening dinner, visit the Yosemite Lodge for swimming at the pool or a visit to the gift shop, or just making a "round trip" excursion around the valley loop in the evening.

As an adolescent, I went on a 2-hour horseback ride each year. I remember riding a horse that was in the movies (so the stable hand told me). The horse's name was Blaze and he was in a moving with Clark Gable.

The Yosemite Valley Stable offers guided trips in the valley. Two-hour horseback , half day mule rides and all day mule rides are available.

We looked forward to our daily invigorating dip in the river each afternoon. We frequented the beach near our Lower River Campground (campground is closed since the flood). Groups of us would raft down the river together and shuttle back.

Another favorite beach was below El Capitan. It was a little bit of a distance so we would drive and take our lunch and spend most of the day there.

Hiking near Yosemite Falls



Beauty Under The Clouds



Gateway To The Valley

I visited Yosemite just once during winter as a teenager on a high school club field trip. I remember the views and scenes as "magical.



Having no pictures of my own, I share some pictures--compliments of Photo Bucket and you can see what I mean about the "magical" element of Yosemite in the winter.