Camped last night at a campground about 16 miles from Yosemite Valley called Crane Flat. Got up and went to the Village and watched the short orientation film “Spirit of Yosemite”. It is amazing that this too was carved by water. As we were driving around we saw a tour wagon stopped at the El Capitan view point area and we got information. It was a 2 hour ride with a couple of stops. Our Ranger was very knowledgeable and you could tell she loved her job. She explained a lot of the history and geology of the Park, beginning with Galen Clark and John Muir who created Yosemite and got it was established as a National Park on October 1, 1890. While we were stopped watching climbers at El Capitan, she mentioned that a gentleman by the name of Steve Wompler, who has Cerebral Palsy, climbed the huge mountain last month. She also said that the oldest person to climb was 81 years old and the youngest was 11. The average length of time to climb that is 3 – 5 days and a speed climber did it in 2 hours and 47 minutes. We could see a port-a-ledge, where a person would spend the night. No thank you! Another beautiful spot we saw was called Tunnel View and you can see El Capitan, Half Dome, Bridalveil Fall, Sentinel Rock, Cathedral Rocks. This is a toss-up for me between here and Grand Tetons. I think I need to spend more time in each place to see which I like better.
There are several waterfalls in the Park but it is the low season for water flow. The Ranger said that in the spring would be a good time to return to see that. Next time we visit here, which I think we will again sometime, we will stay in the Village at the Lodge.
We plan on going into the Valley tomorrow and sightsee and watch the climbers. We will attend mass tomorrow evening in an amphitheater in one of the campgrounds. We will leave on Sunday morning through the Mariposa Groves where we will be able to see the giant Sequoias.
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