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National Parks Road Trip & Alaska Sea/Land Cruise - April-June 2015
Yosemite National Park
When we entered Yosemite National Park we were about 30 miles from Curry Village where we would be staying and about 2 miles in the other direction from Mariposa Grove, also called Mariposa Sequoia Garden. We decided to visit the grove before continuing on to Curry Village. Wanting to get checked in and moved into our tent-cabin before dark we just stayed at the grove for about 45 minutes, but it was so impressive we knew we would be back for a longer visit during our stay in Yosemite. As mentioned we stayed in a tent-cabin at Curry Village in the park.
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Day 1
Our first full day in Yosemite we visited Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, Bridalveil Fall, Valley View, and Glacier Point. All the falls had a good amount of water running over them.
There are two falls, upper & lower at Yosemite falls. Bridalveil Fall is unique to our experience, when the water comes over the precipice it is caught by the wind and spreads out like a veil. As the wind changes direction and intensity the "veil" changes shape and direction. As well as getting up close views of these falls, from Glacier Point all these falls plus Nevada Fall & Vernal Fall can be viewed.
El Capitan is one of the best known peaks in Yosemite, there is a spot where you can get close to it. Valley View has one of the most beautiful scenic views in the world. From Glacier Point you can view Yosemite Valley over 3000 feet below with its' meadows and the Yosemite River running through it. From there you can see several waterfalls, the Half Arch, the Basket Dome, Hanging Rock and several other peaks and rock formations. Curry Village and Yosemite Village can be viewed from Glacier Point.
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Day 2
The next morning, Dale wanted to mail some postcards so we stopped at the post office near Yosemite Village Visitor Center. While in the area we visited the Miwok Indian Village that is there. After visiting the village we headed out to Mariposa Grove. As we neared Wawona we noticed a sign that stated the parking lot at Mariposa Grove was full, so we stopped at Wawona and caught the shuttle to the grove.
Several stops in the village were at trees and plants that the Miwok used for food, shelter, clothing, etc. Two examples are: the Manzanita tree and the Mock Orange tree. The Manzanita tree has the hardest wood in the Sierra Nevada and was used for heating stones for cooking and in underground ovens the Miwok also used the berries as a food source. Mock Orange wood which is lightweight was used to make arrows. There also were several examples of Miwok buildings. Though there are no Miwoks still living in this style village some of the buildings such as the Ceremonial Roundhouse, the center of religious activities and the Sweathouse used for curative purposes, are still occasionally used.
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We had stopped here when we first entered the park, but could only spend about 45 minutes. We came back for a longer visit. We followed the 2 mile trail up to the Fallen Tunnel Tree stopping along the way to enjoy the amazing large trees, other beautiful scenery, and animals we encountered. Though they are very large the sequoia have relatively shallow roots that spread out extensively. There is a picture of Dale near a fallen tree, the height of the roots behind her are only a little more than half the diameter of the roots as when it fell the back (now bottom) roots broke off near the trunk.
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jul 13 2015