Any Colour You Like

Yosemite

My dad has run his barber shop since way before I was on this Earth, and since then, he's had the choice of the best calendars each year. Sometimes English countrside, sometimes the Simpsons, but the one that's made the most repeat showings is Ansell Adams work - which usually uses Yosemite National Park in a good percentage of pictures.

So when my hair was cut, I always had a look and became quite fascinated with these amazing waterfall & mountainous Black & White photographs. Finally I could go to stomp those grounds myself - though what I didn't know before was just how large this park is (there's no swings, climbing frames either, and unlike my local park, no Somerfiled nextdoor!).

At 5.55am, I was driving up Tioga Pass into Yosemite as the sun rose, ligthing the tips of the mountains around me. Much like my trip to and around Mammoth, it didn't take long before I'd stop for photography. Again, I can't really begin to describe the scenery. Some of the pictures go some way to show, but you have to go for yourself - you just have to!

For the first 2 hours, I had the park roads practically to myself. The roads followed by picture postcard lake views started it off, before I went wandering into the fields, before running straight back to the car for the cold morning air!

I discovered the gorgeous crystal waters of Lake Tenaya before succumbing to the winding roads once again. A few dozen quick lefts and rights and I stumbled upon the last stop of the East to West Yosemite road - Tuolone Grove. The air had warmed and I was restless so decided to take this hike. As I descended the hillside (used in winter for cross country skiing), I soon saw one of the worlds largest living organisms - the great Redwood Sequoia tree. As well as being huge in height and girth, they can live for thousands of years - if an old one falls, it's wood takes 300 years to rot and decompose.

Enough of the nature lesson, I was starting to descend into the Yosemite valley to check out the jewels of the park (and take a little more rubber from the Mustangs tyres).

From here on in, I'll just leave you with some pictures from the day.

By mid afternoon, I'd made it up high to glacier point and then hiked to the sentinel dome - central to all the big sites in the park. The lovely blue skies gave way to some cloud and then rain. Everyone ran for cover, but in a short while the rain had stopped. I started my trip back out of the park and stumbled on some luck. The rain had moved into a perfect position over El Capitain and Cathedral rocks (right) and formed the rainbow bridge between the two.

I spent the night in Mariposa; a pretty dull town but good enough. Up bright and early I took advantage of the pool before heading into the South entrance of the park. Here is the Mariposa grove where more Sequoia trees grow, a nice walk seeing the biggest, some twin trees (conjoined) and one that looks like a clothes peg, and the oldest tree in the park at 1800 years -still not looking a day over 1538.

I finished up with some more fantastic driving and then finally half hour in my favourite spot watching the waters of the Merced river go by.

I took the West and only exit/entrance I'd not been through yet. An amazing winding road led me down to Oakdale, nothing but a small piece of Armco to stop out of control vehicles plummeting hundreds of feet below!

As the hills became a little less rugged, I was headed back toward the coast and San Francisco.