Yo!semite

Everyone I talked to before the trip said the same thing on discovering where I wanted to go – you’ll LOVE Yosemite! And what wise friends I have – they were not wrong.

Bruce, Brenda and I set off early, crossed the Central Valley and arrived at the Yosemite gates around midday. Our first destination on this whistle-stop tour was the Tuolumne Sequoia Grove. I’d seen the tallest trees in the world; here were the biggest. You won’t be surprised to learn that they’re bloody massive!

I decided I was going to be too busy for wildlife photos, and I didn’t even take my binoculars when walking to the grove. Big mistake – thankfully Bruce had his and I was able to get great views of a new bird for me, a fine pair of White-headed Woodpeckers.

Our next destination was Yosemite Valley… not much I can say, other than: wow!

We got stuck in traffic at some roadworks, so Bruce said I should check the adjacent Merced River for American Dipper. It seemed like a bit of a long shot, especially as there was someone actually in the river at that point, but it was a good photo opportunity so off I went… and immediately found a dipper right in front of me! Another new bird for me.

From the valley we headed back up and over to Olmsted Point. Wow again!

We continued, my camera clicking away like crazy, and eventually came out at Mono Lake.

It had been an overwhelmingly impressive day. We booked into a motel at Lee Vining, had dinner and got an early night. We didn’t have too long in the morning before I had to head to San Jose airport, so we made plans for an early start – could there be one final twist on the last morning?