Yosemite

While Sarah and I were attending the convention, Larry and Emily took off for Yosemite National Park. We've never been there before, so they were pretty excited. They took a tram tour up to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. While we'd seen plenty of tall redwoods so far on this trip, these are the trees that are renowned for their great girth.

They visited the Glacier Point viewpoint, where they looked down upon Yosemite Village and out at Half Dome and other famous Yosemite sights. They hiked to the top of Vernal Falls, where Emily says they really appreciated the mist coming off of the waterfall. It was in the 90's that day, so it was a welcome refreshing respite from the heat. From there, they hiked further upward to the base of Nevada Falls.

One highlight was a side trip to the ghost town of Bodie, California. A victim of the gold rush bust, it's one of the most intact ghost towns in the US. Amazing, since it gets 30 feet or so of snow each winter! That evening at sunset, they waded in Tanaya Lake alongside Tioga Road.

They report that they saw lots of wildlife (including deer and marmots), clear clean streams, and plenty of tourists like themselves!