I don't really know much about Yosemite, other than it's 'famous'. I've only really heard of it in TV or books, and after visiting it I can't say I know much more, but I was very impressed. It's an enormous area - 3 million acres I think - of protected wilderness, which means it's full of trees, mountains, bears and tourists. It's a stunning area.
The views are gorgeous, both on the drive there and then when you reach the actual park. The drive is constantly uphill, through towns abandoned from the gold rush era, to areas where the only signs of human life are the roads that take you deeper into the park. You do forget how high above sea level you are, but when your ears pop you remember.
What struck me the most was the weather. As we drove higher we started seeing snow to the side of the road despite the sun, and when we stopped to look at a huge waterfall it was practically raining due to the heavy spray.
Stopping for lunch at 'curry village' we ordered a pizza and were given a pizza pager that told us when our order was ready. The day was just full of suprises!
The pictures of the area will be sorted much later, once I sort my digital camera out, as my iPhone wasn't up to the challenge and just about managed some trees.
It was that long of a drive that the visit took all day, but stopping at a Costa Coffee on the way back I was amazed to see they have a 'drive thru' section.
While Yosemite was the big highlight of the day, it's these little differences that keep reminding me how crazy this America place really is.
