And now, without further ado, I bring you Day 2 of our Yosemite trip (and then eventually there's a tiny bit more to come from my more recent trip with my friend and visitor, Katie...but I might give you a reprieve because I have a niece now that I need to update you on!).
On day two, after a very full day of driving and hiking, some stargazing at the Tunnel View lookout point, and a good night's rest in a sparse and spider-free (thanks to Steve for killing the biggest spider either of us has ever seen!) motel room outside of the park, we made the tedious, winding drive back in to the park for more sights to behold! This time instead of going into Yosemite Valley, we headed up, up, up to a lookout spot high above called Glacier Point. There we found some amazing new views of the waterfalls and granite peaks.
Pictured below are Nevada (top) and Vernal (bottom) falls, which we had seen from our hike the previous day.
Then Steve climbed Half Dome! :)
Just kidding, here's the real Half Dome. I just couldn't get enough of it!
Glacier Point is at an elevation of 7,214 feet (2,199 m) above sea level and 3,200 feet (980 m) above the valley floor below. Whoa, that is a long way down... straight down!
After enjoying the spectacular views offered at the lookout point, we began a hike to the top of Sentinel Dome, which was a moderate hike of about 2 miles (round trip) from our starting point at Glacier Point. The incline was not as steep as our hike from the day before, which our glutes thanked us for! :)
Well, that is, until we got to this point and had to ascend this hunk of granite:
But we were rewarded with a 360-degree view, including Half Dome, the falls, and on the other side, El Capitan and more. And the walking sticks we picked up along the way helped, too.
(That's El Capitan above, the peak with the sheer granite face.) We had lunch on top (PB&J and Doritos!), an exhausted Steve caught a quick nap (not joking... he found the flattest piece of rock for us to eat lunch on and then stretched out for, as my grandfather would've said, "forty winks"), and then we hiked back down where we indulged in some ice cream that was sold at the shop at Glacier Point. Ice cream AND these views? We were feeling just how incredibly blessed we are!
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,(Psalm 8:3-4, 9)
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
And that sums up our first trip to Yosemite. It was truly a wonderful experience and I think it's a spectacular place that everyone should see. (And neither my amateur photos nor Ansel Adams can do it justice... though Adams comes closer!) So thankful that we can enjoy these places and see the awesome work of our Creator!
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