May 17

We left the 5th wheel in Lee Vining and we went to Yosemite National Park. As we were driving to the park we were discussing what could be so great about this park? We thought it looked just like highway 26 over Mt. Hood. All of a sudden we had dropped down into a valley and there it was, just absolutely breath taking. Yosemite Valley is seven miles long and one mile wide at the widest point. The valley was formed by a glacial erosion over millions of years and it is the most visited section of the park. The walls of the valley are draped with water falls that usually run full in the spring and early summer. The rock formations are gigantic and there are 7 falls or more that are so big and beautiful. Yosemite Falls was the most impressive as it has a drop of 2425 feet and it is the tallest falls in North America and the 5th largest in the world. Sharon liked the Bridal Veil Falls as the spray of it looks like a bridal veil blowing in the wind. We rode a shuttle around the park where they pointed out the "Half dome", Yosemite's most distinctive monument. Standing at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley, Half Dome rises to an elevation of 8842 feet. Later we walked on foot to see a lot more of it. We vote this park is the greatest of all the National parks we have seen so far. (pictures)