We left San Jose, May 22, 2000, about 6:30 a.m. with Uncle Clyde and Aunt Dorothy. With construction on the main highway entrance (Hwy 140), we arrived a little before noon. One of the best views of the valley is from the Tunnel View (148k, resize photo window). Definitely a good place to start. Notice the difference in shadow in a later photo. El Capitan, Cathedral Range, Half Dome, Cathedral Rocks, and Bridalveil Falls are in the distance.

We took a detour to Mariposa Grove, to see the Giant Sequoia. This was a 3 hour round trip. Here we saw one of the famous tunnel trees, the California Tree (90K), and Grizzly Giant (61k). Notice the little friend cooling in the shade. The Wawona Hotel dates back to 1857. On the way back we again stopped at the Tunnel View (77k) pull off.

Back in the valley, we took several short hikes, getting wet in the mighty spray at the bottom of Yosemite Falls (72k), and perspiring on the way up to Illilouette Falls (88k) and Vernal Falls (70k) at the east end of the valley. Near Hapy Isles Nature Center we came across several hikers following a black bear (168k, resize photo window). We took a photo, then continued swiftly in the opposite direction.

Half Dome (82k) is always in the distance, and we got off the bus to take this photo. A trek to the top wasn't part of our trip. Near the Valley Visitor Center the bus driver slowed down as we came across several deer (78k, resize photo window). El Capitan (79k) guards the entrance. We stopped to view several climbers on our way out of the park.

On the return trip we decided to go around the construction. After a very windy trip down the mountain on west Hwy 120, we finally found a turn off near Don Pedro Resovoir to capture the sunset (48k) we watched for over an hour. I also watched the road and Aunt Dorothy watched the cliff on the side of the road.

We arrived back at midnight. What a day!

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