A Whole Lot of Wow May 17)

Our day started at Tunnel View, the classic vista of Yosemite Valley. The clouds came and went around El Capitan, but Half Dome remained shrouded and hidden from view. Bridalveil Falls provided a delicate white ribbon, but later in the day we would find out first hand the fury behind the veil.

It was chilly and breezy, and I was glad to have my gloves. Even the die hard young guy with the sophisticated camera equipment said he was going to give up waiting for Half Dome to appear.

We strolled on the boardwalk and paths in Sentinel Meadow/Cook's Meadow, then headed to Yosemite Village. The visitor center has the expected information on the geologic, natural, and cultural history of the area. Also in the Village are a post office, museum, the Ansel Adams Gallery, a theater, and a restaurant. The walk to Lower Yosemite Falls was easy and the approach provided views of both the Upper and Lower Falls. At 2425 feet, this is the highest waterfall in North America.

We agreed that this is a great time to visit Yosemite. In the summer, people must literally fight for parking space as well as elbow room on the trails and viewpoints. Another bonus: no bugs! Now if only it was warmer and drier (keeping our fingers crossed the forecast is correct; however tomorrow is supposed to be event rainier than today).

After wandering around on some of the trails in the Village area, we headed back to the car and drove to the Bridalveil Falls parking area. By this time, it was raining, so we ate our picnic in the car before starting up the short walk to the viewpoint at the bottom of the falls. This is one of the few falls in the park that doesn't dry to a trickle in the summer. It thunders down at this time of year, reminding me of hearing the rocks tumble in the spring runoff in the big creeks in Hills. Jerry opted not to accompany me through the heavy spray all the way to the viewpoint, but I had donned my new rain pants and felt bold . At the viewpoint, I didn't take the camera out...it was like standing in the shower, but far colder. The creek along the walkway provided plenty of great photo ops on the way back to the car, but it was a constant battle to keep the raindrops off the lens.

The Sentinel Beach picnic area was our next stop. There was only one other vehicle there...guess no one else thought it was picnic weather, but actually, neither did we. We were there for the view of El Capitan with the Merced River meandering at its base. Again, clouds and drizzle frustrated our photography, but we expect the weather to improve on Thursday and will have time to return.

We returned to the Village and had a look in the Ansel Adams Gallery, then watched a short movie in the visitor center theater before heading back to the hotel for hot showers and spaghetti and salad for dinner.

As we drove along the road in the park, it was interesting to see cars pulled over in places that seemed off the main attraction route. Then I would crane my neck to look back out the car window to see why they might have stopped and exclaim, “Wow!” at yet another incredible scene. There is no doubt that spring is late in Yosemite this year, but we have seen a few flowers, and the dogwoods are blooming at the lower elevations. Deer roam through the Village, and we chatted with a young Dutch couple who were very excited to see them. They told us they had spent a very cold night camping, but aren't staying until the weather gets better. They are headed to Death Valley next...no doubt it will be warmer and drier there!

So our first full day here was full of incredible moments. We feel we have our bearings in terms of how to get around and find where we want to be. I am so glad we will be here 4 more days as there is so much we have yet to see, and we know we will want to re-visit some of today's spots in better weather.