Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park is located in the state of California in the Sierra Nevada.
It is a 3,5-hour drive from San Francisco and a 6-hour drive from Los Angeles.
The park is famous for its landscapes and nature: granite cliffs, waterfalls, rivers, lakes, groves of redwoods.
The park area is 3081 square kilometers.
Yosemite Valley takes up only one percent of the total area of the park, but it is a very popular place among the tourists.
*Yosemite National Park*

September 19, 2014.
We woke up in the morning at the campground "Wawona Campground", in a pine forest near the river.
From here to the entrance to the valley "Yosemite" was about half an hour away by car.
*Wawona Campground*
GPS-coordinates: 37°32'40.8"N, 119°40'21.8"W

The facilities are standard in the campground: a place for a tent, for a car and for a campfire, a table.
A metal box is here, where you can put a food, water, toothpaste and creams.
This protection against bears, which can come to the campground at night.

But before heading to Yosemite Valley, we decided to once again look at the giant sequoias that grow in Mariposa Grove.
*Mariposa Grove*
GPS-coordinates: 37°30'25.2"N, 119°37'51.0"W

"Mariposa Grove" - this grove, consisting of about five hundred giant redwoods.
The grove is located in the southern part of Yosemite National Park, California.
The two trees in the grove are in the list of 30 largest giant sequoias in the world.
The grove was opened in 1857.
*Mariposa Grove - Wiki*

Yesterday we looked the sequoia in Sequoia National Park and in Kings Canyon National Park.
And of course, we did not remain indifferent...
But in America there are so many interesting things but the time is not enough.
So we decided not to stay in Mariposa Grove for a long time since we've seen the redwoods.
We just wanted to drive by the Mariposa Grove Rd., and to make a couple of photos.

You should stay in the grove, if you have more time.

And here is the Mariposa Grove...

We drove in the direction of Yosemite Valley by the Glacier Point Road.

Glacier Point Road departs from Wawona Road and goes through the forest to the observation area - Glasier Point.
*Yosemite - Glasier Point*
GPS-coordinates: 37°43'39.5"N, 119°34'28.0"W

Glacier Point is located on the southern part of the wall of the Yosemite Valley, at an altitude of 2199 meters.
*Glasier Point - Wiki*

From here you can see the valley and the mountains nearby.

The nature are very beautiful here...

Tourists have looked to the valley...

For the 25 cents, you can see the valley of Yosemite and the rock "El Capitan" in the great detail.

And now, to the car and to the valley of Yosemite!

Yosemite Valley - the world-famous valley of glacial origin in the Sierra Nevada.
This is the central part of Yosemite National Park.
The length of the valley is about 13 km, the width is 1.6 km.
The Merced River flows through the valley, there are several waterfalls.
*Yosemite Valley - Wiki*

We arrived in the valley by the sunny forest road - Wawona Road, through the tunnel.

We were standing on the view point and looked around...
The mountains surrounded us on all sides, the valley was at the bottom.

I'll tell you about the valley...
Imagine the canyon between the mountains and the rocks, the length of 13 km and a width of 1.6 km.
A lot of the vegetation, the rivers, the waterfalls, the streams.
It is a paradise...
In the center of the valley is a huge rock - "El Capitan".

On one side of the rock - the forest, on the other side - the meadow.
The road for cars pass around the rock, a lot of the hiking trails .
The route is - you drive in a car around the rock, making the stops at the lookout points.
The tourist center - Yosemite Village is located at the end of the valley.
Here there are hotels, motels, campgrounds, cafes and even a museum.
*Yosemite Village*
GPS-coordinates: 37°44'37.0"N, 119°35'08.4"W

There are many visitors in the valley so the price for the night is very high, even in the campground
Therefore, we have reserved a place in the campground for the night not in the valley, and on the mountain pass, on the road 120.
Today, we were going to drive around the valley and to pass some hiking trails, to see as much as possible.
And tomorrow we were going to finish the inspection of the valley...
And then we wanted to drive in the direction of Mono Lake by the mountain road 120.

So, we drove into the valley!

We went down to the valley. WOW! The beauty...
The rock "El Capitan".

"El Capitan" - one of the largest peaks-monoliths in North America.
The cliff consists of granite.
The top of the peak is located at an altitude of 2307 meters above sea level, or about 910 meters above the valley of Yosemite.
*El Capitan Rock*

Let's take a walk among the trees...

The visitors walk along the roads...

The tourists looking for the paths in the thicket...

Then they relax on the benches...

Unfortunately, we did not see the waterfalls and the mountain streams
The summer was hot and the waterfalls dried up in the September

But the valley is very green, lots of trees and shrubs.

The plants fight for a life with stones and rocks.

There are a lot of stones here.
Stones stayed here since the time of the Ice Age.

Many animals live here.
The deer walk along the paths.

The birds chirp ...

The bears tear a bark of trees by sharp claws.

Well, we drive on.

As in all the parks of America, in the valley there are information signs.

You can drop the car where the other visitors left the cars

You get out of the car, you walk along the trails and you enjoy the life!

This is the Merced River.

The river became shallow in the summer.

We turned near the Yosemite Village and drove back.
On this side of the rock there are meadows and fields.

The sun was setting, the fog descended from the mountains, the Yosemite Valley was already asleep.

It were time for us to rest in the campground on the pass.

Through the tunnel we leave the Yosemite Valley by the beautiful Big Oak Flat Road.

The american campgrounds have liked us.
We learned to assemble and disassemble our tent quickly.
So, we became real tourists.
*Crane Flat Campground*
GPS-coordinates: 37°45'05.7"N, 119°48'01.5"W

The Crane Flat Campground on HWY 120 (Tioga Rd.) was very comfortable
We woke up on Saturday morning, September 20, 2014 and ... decided not to descend into the valley.
Yesterday we have seen a lot in the valley: we walked through the woods and near the rocks, were in Yosemite Village.

We were ready for a new adventure, and drove by the Tioga Road (Tioga Pass) to the east, in the direction of Mono Lake.

Tioga Pass Road - the road through the Tioga Pass in the mountains of Sierra Nevada and through Yosemite Park and is a continuation of HWY 120.
This is a mountainous road, a serpentine, which goes through the forest, near the rocks and lakes.
In winter, the road is closed for safety reasons.
*Tioga Pass*
*Tioga Pass Road*

There are many lookout points for visitors and trails for tourists here.

These rocks - a gift from the Ice Age.

Yosemite Valley is at the bottom...

The nature is very beautiful here.

Another stop...

How many stones and rocks here.

And a one tree only.

And then, everything was like a fairy tale...
"How long have we traveled..."
And we came to the miraculous lake with a beautiful name - Tenaya Lake.

Tenaya Lake - this Alpine lake in Yosemite National Park.
The surface of the lake lies at an altitude of 2484 meters above sea level.
The lake was formed in the glacial period, its shores are composed of granite rocks.
*Tenaya Lake*
GPS-coordinates: 37°49'52.2"N, 119°28'01.5"W

A pine forest grows on the rocks.

The water was crystal clear and was not cold.

The small beach was on the other side of the lake, where we decided to take a dip.

WOW! The beauty has been here.

After relaxing at the lake, we drove on.
Mono Lake was far away, and we did not want to leave the park.
Because we have to drive back - toward San Francisco.

A huge rock is near the lake.
The climbers had trained on this rock.

And then - the rocks and stones, the natural chaos...

And a lust for a life...

We turned around and drove back by the Tioga Road.
Tenaya Lake again...
Goodbye, "Tenaya".

We have left Yosemite National Park and we were sad, but we drove to the ocean, we drove to San Francisco.

We left the park by a forest road of Tioga Pass and along the HWY 120 - forward to San Francisco.

The HWY 120 was also very beautiful.
This is a serpentine, the road "down - up."

The mountains were behind us, the lake (could the river) was ahead.

This is Don Pedro Reservoir.

Don Pedro Reservoir was created during the construction of Don Pedro Dam in 1923.
The old dam was replaced by a new in 1971.
The total length of the shoreline of the reservoir reaches 260 km.
The volume of the reservoir is 2.5 cubic km.
The reservoir provides water for San Francisco.
*Lake Don Pedro*

The reservoir was left behind, villages and towns were ahead.

We came to the town of Manteca, CA, where we spent the night in "Motel 6".
GPS-coordinates: 37°47'55.1"N, 121°11'35.9"W