Yosemite 2

Day 1

We had a trolley tour around the base of the valley and took in all the amazing sights of this incredible place, then walked up to Yosemite Falls and on to Mirror Lake, after a picnic lunch with the squirrels. Unfortunately Mirror Lake was more of a stream at this time of year but the walk was pretty nonetheless. On the way, we saw a group of people looking in to the forest and they were watching.... a mother and baby bear! We were so close it was impressive, Florian got a few great pictures (check out Flickr, the link is on the right).
We tested the hot tub (jacuzzi) back at home and thoroughly enjoyed relaxing our muscles!

Day 2

Florian and Dad went on a photography walk in the morning to learn how to get some great photos of the valley, while the ladies had a leisurely walk and a soak in the hot tub! After lunch we went to Mariposa Grove, a forest of Sequoia trees and saw a huge one that was 2700 years old called Grizzly Giant. There was a tunnel cut through another, see the photos!
That evening we drove to Glacier Point to watch the sunset and listen to a very enthusiastic park ranger talk about the different mountains and their names. It was so beautiful to watch.

Day 3

Florian and I got up at 4.45am this morning to watch the sunrise and we were not disappointed: it was blue and pink and really stunning (beautiful). We all drove out to Tuoloumne Meadows in the east of the park for a complete change in scenery, the rocks up there were whiter and trees more sparse, very moon-like.
Eventually we arrived at the trail (chemin) we wanted to follow up to Dog Lake, which involved a mile of very steep incline fit for mountain goats. Luckily the trail flattened out and led us to a beautiful lake where we strolled around and admired the beautiful view of the mountains in the distance.
That evening, Florian, Dad and I made one last trip into the valley to say our goodbyes to Half Dome at sunset. The red face of the rock never gets boring, it is so amazing.

We left this morning and have spent today in the car heading for Napa.