Yosemite | Veril's Blog about Life Journeys and Travels

For milder temperatures, I started early in the morning driving from my hotel in El Portal toward the Arch Rock entrance to Yosemite, which is only about 2 miles away. I had downloaded an app obtained at TripAdvisor.com, called the Action Tour Guide app and included the Yosemite Valley audio tour that I had purchased for less than $20. (Yesterday, I had forgotten to download the paid tour while I still had WiFi. Mistake!) The tour narration is GPS activated which worked well most of the time. My first stop was to park for Bridalveil Fall.

Here, the narrator told the legend of a girl named Norita who fell in love with a warrior named Grey Eagle. Alas, they were from rival tribes. The elders discovered their plot to elope and told Norita they had killed Grey Eagle. She threw herself over a mountain out of grief but Mother Nature turned her into a veil of falling water. When Mother Nature found Grey Eagle, he had not been killed but had turned himself into the mountain itself so he could watch over Norita for eternity.

My next stop was to enter the large, beautiful meadow on the valley floor, where I spent considerable time walking, meditating, and taking in magnificent views of El Capitan and the Three Brothers. A deer walked nearby for added pleasure.

El Capitan, whose vertical face rises 3,000 feet from the valley floor. The summit is 7,573 feet above sea level. In 2017,
Alex Honnold became the first person to free solo the Freerider Route, as documented in the film, *Free Solo*.

The two pointed peaks on the right are the Three Brothers, overlapping peaks the tallest of which is Eagle Peak.

The gorgeous Cook’s Meadow with the granite shoulder of Glacier Point at the left and Half Dome a bit to the right.

Many children could not have remainded standing in the flood waters of January 1997.

Back in the car, my next stop was the parking lot for the trail to the base of Lower Yosemite Fall. The first video below shows both Upper and Lower Fall from the trail. The second video shows Lower Fall, where there were far more people than anywhere else I’ve been on this trip to Yosemite.

It was time for an early lunch, having started so early and walked so long. I arrived at the Grill in Yosemite Village just as they were opening at 11:00 am. Ah, a nice pulled pork sandwich and an Arnold Palmer.

Then, I took the shuttle one stop to get to the parking lot and walked back to the trail. I had taken a picture of a sign to help me orient myself to find my car. Ok, there’s the sign, now delete the photo. No wait!! Is that Half Dome peering over the sign?

Unexpected treasures! Now to drive the final leg around the valley floor, stopping at the Valley View pullout.

I leave you and Yosemite with my version of this iconic view. On the left is El Capitan. On the right are the Cathedral Rocks. Notice the thin ribbon down the dark cliff; that’s Bridalveil Fall. The River in the foreground is the Merced River — the same as the one running behind my hotel room deck, where I’m headed now.

The Merced River gave me a warm, audible welcome when I rose early and opened my window.

Entering the park and driving along Southside Dr. was so peaceful and relaxing. Upper Yosemite Fall provided the sight I needed to stop the car, take this shot, and savor the Valley floor. Breathe in, breathe out.

Later, when I was on the other side of the field, I talked briefly with a man about 35 years old shooting the same fall from a closer distance with a digital camera and a long zoom lens (probably 2.5 feet). He reminded me of my younger self, holding (and traveling with!!) a similar camera — and film! Only then did I reflect on how easy it had been to use the 10x zoom on my iPhone. Would I want to go back to those days and those experiences? No — I enjoyed my earlier experiences, but let me only savor the memories!

I parked at Yosemite Village and walked the short distance to view both Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls. The first picture below shows both falls, which is followed by two shots of Upper Yosemite Falls.