#26 Visit Yosemite

Last week was reading week at my school, which loosely translates to fall break. The past two years I have gone home to Ohio to be with friends and family, but this year I decided to stay, not make any specific plans, and just see what happened.

So when my roommate asked if I would want to go with her and two other friends to Yosemite, the answer was clear: YES!!! I have been wanting to visit this beautiful park since moving out to California and was so happy to have someone to go with me.

Half Dome is the mountain Yosemite is most famous for. If you've ever seen the logo for North Face jackets, it's based on this mountain. Climbing to the top of it is definitely on my to-do list. I'll just need to train a lot more to get there.

We decided to hike the Upper Falls trail, but because we were off to a later start, we made it around 3/4 of the way up and then turned back so we wouldn't loose the daylight. The views were breathtaking on the part of the trail we did finish, so I can't wait to head back sometime and do the rest.

Yosemite Falls was spectacular. We were super fortunate that there had been rain the previous weekend because this time of year they aren't always running (especially in the drought).

It's the tallest waterfall I have ever been to so I was super excited the whole time. There may or may not have been some singing of TLC involved...

And look! There was a rainbow in the falls as we hiked. It was too perfect!

There wasn't a lot of "fall" in the park, but if you look closely, there are a couple of trees with changing leaves. Sure they're all brown, but it's a start.

When we cam back from the Upper Falls trail, there was just enough time to go see the Lower Falls. If you aren't a hiker and want to get fairly close to the falls, this is the path for you. Just don't do what we did and climb the boulders to get right to the base of the falls. That was not so easy and my roommate lost a pair of pants in the process...

More often than I would like to admit I am moved to tears just by taking in the magnificence of creation. It is when I am in nature that I feel the deepest connection to God.

What's your favorite place to hike? Does anyone in the Bay Area have suggestions of places to go?

Peace,
Sarah