Yosemite

Merced River

El Capitan

Left at 8:30 as we knew it would take us 10-12 hrs to make the loop thru Yosemite....yes, we were correct.   We traveled 126 miles today.....only saw about a 1/3 of Yosemite....good reason to return and see the remainder.    However, most of the water falls had water coming over them do to the rain they rec. the prior week....thank goodness, as it would have been very difficult to see the falls without water flowing.   El Capitan & Half Dome were amazing.   Yosemite, Brideviel Falls & Sentinel Falls.  We also saw others but they were not flowing or as impressive, including Ribbon Falls. 

We saw deer but no black bears.   Learned an interesting fact, only human to be killed in Yosemite was by a deer, not a bear.   When you see the horns on a male deer, you'd understand why.   

If you ever get the opportunity to see Yosemite, I would highly recommend it.   You need 1 full day but 2-3 would be much better.

Buck was so close we could have touched him

View from the tunnel....El Capitan, Half Dome & Bridelviel Falls

After leaving the main area of Yosemite, we headed towards Oakhourst, where we'll hit hwy 49 to go back to Mariposa.   We arrived in Wawona to find the Wawona hotel and historical center.   Very interesting.  

Mariposa Grove

Wawona Hotel

We then headed for the Mariposa grove....large Sequoia grove.   We arrived around 5:00 PM to learn the tram closed at 4:00 PM so we took a short hike around the area to see the mighty giants.   Next time, we'll arrive early enough to take the tram or walk the entire trail.   However, by this time we were exhausted and just wanted milkshakes, which we got in Oakhurst.

Tomorrow we head for Monterey, were our niece lives.