Yosemite National Park

Over Thanksgiving of 2016, I traveled to Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks. (To read about Sequoia, see my previous blog post.) On Thanksgiving Day I was in Sequoia and then on Black Friday I drove into Yosemite. Entering the park was such an amazing and jaw-dropping experience. I entered via El Portal road from Mariposa, where I was staying in an adorable cabin that I found on Airbnb. The drive through the park into Yosemite Valley yielded views of the amazing Yosemite Falls,  Sentinel Falls, El Capitan, and then finally as I drove through the trees, the amazing and iconic Half Dome. I couldn’t believe that I was finally here! I’d always wanted to see Yosemite and the amazingly beautiful natural wonders that it holds. Below are some of my favorite photographs from Yosemite.

The view driving into the park in the morning was gorgeous with frosty meadows.

Above: the gorgeous view of Upper Yosemite Falls on the drive in.The first view of Half Dome when I drove through the trees and out into a clearing.

I had so much fun photographing the frosty meadows and the amazing Half Dome.

I walked along a path through the meadow and eventually came to a gorgeous river.

The rocks were icy in some areas and I had Half Dome in the background which made for some excellent photography opportunities!

I found a tree that had fallen across the river. The lighting was perfect and golden and all I could hear was the sound of the babbling river as well as bird calls.

I ended my first day in Yosemite with walking through the woods and back to Yosemite Falls for some more photo opportunities.

My second day in Yosemite I went back to Yosemite Falls. This time I wanted to get closer and see Lower Yosemite Falls as well as the Upper Falls.

After visiting the Falls I made my way to Mirror Lake which was amazingly gorgeous! There was a funny little area by the lake that had all these little stacks of rocks (pictured above). Such a unique place.

Mirror Lake was so amazing and so fun to explore! I had fun exploring the little running brook nearby, too.

Next on my list was to hike part of the John Muir Trail to Vernal Falls.

The trail up to Vernal Falls was so picturesque and getting to see the lovely Vernal Falls was a real treat. On the trail back down I even saw Upper Yosemite Falls in the distance!

Last but certainly not least, I got to see El Capitan in all its glory! My trip to Yosemite was truly amazing and I can’t wait to go back!