Beauty beyond description....
Written: Jul 03 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beauty, wildlife, scenery
Cons: --
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| Volman's Full Review: Yosemite National Park |
A few years ago, while on our family drive out West, we had the opportunity to stay for a couple of days in Yosemite. I had heard many wonderful things about Yosemite, but words, pictures, or video really do little justice to describe this beautiful park. Beautiful mountains, wildlife, and scenery are abundant in this wonderful reserve. This park was just an overall great adventure for the whole family, with a little added excitement at the beginning of our trip. We had made reservations late in the season to stay in the park, so we had less than the best accommodations, but this did little to take away from our overall enjoyment of the park. A beautiful park, with an overall great atmosphere, Yosemite is a place that I would highly recommend everyone make a point of visiting at least once in their lifetime.
The major excitement and adventure of our trip came before we ever even got into the park. We had been driving all day, and as evening approached, we were all just ready to get into the park, go to bed, and wake up refreshed the next morning. However, as we pulled up to the East entrance to Yosemite, we noticed that it was blocked off with barricades, and police were all over the area. As we pulled up, a police officer waved us over and proceeded to tell us that a camper in the park had gotten upset and killed a park ranger. The fugitive was still on the loose, and therefore, the East entrance to the park would be closed until further notice. So, we were faced with either giving up our reservations and staying outside the park, or driving over 3 hours to the West entrance where we could get in. Highly fatigued, we still decided upon driving to the other entrance so that we could get to our room.
This little detour was not, however, without its charms. The drive around the park was absolutely magnificent and we managed to keep our spirits up even though we were all so exhausted. My mom was a little nervous, but didn't complain when my friend and I wanted to play in the snow, even though she was apprehensive about the fact that some madman was on the loose. The experience was just too much for my friend and I to pass up. Coming from Georgia, we rarely see snow in the winter, much less in the middle of July when we were in Yosemite. After a few minutes of sweating like crazy, my mom finally lost it and made us come back to the car. The rest of the drive was uneventful, and we finally made our way into the park well after dark.
Well, once inside the park we were all sort of nervous about the fugitive, and this led to some especially funny moments of my friend and I jumping from the back seat and trying to scare my little sister to death. I don't think, however, that she found it too funny. After finally getting checked in, we found our room, which was little more than a cabin in the middle of the woods with a couple of beds. Of course, by that time, anything to lay down on would have felt like heaven. The room was adequate, and if I visited again, I would probably recommend staying in one of these little cabins rather than the main lodge. I guess it just felt like we were getting a little more of the outdoor experience rather than staying in some large hotel. My only problem was the public showers which didn't have any hot water, and let me tell you, it is absolutely freezing in Yosemite even in the middle of July.
Once the main part of our stay got underway, we found many things to do. The first day we took a shuttle to the top of one of the larger mountains, and hiked back down. We did many other things on the trip, but this hike was certainly one of the best ways I saw to get the whole experience of Yosemite. The hike offered some wonderful views of the park and plenty of great photo opportunities. This hike, however, is only recommended for those who can stand slipping and sliding down a mountain for a few miles. While the path was clearly marked, it was certainly no day in the park (no pun intended). It was dry, but extremely slippery and I couldn't even count the number of times that I slipped, and did 360s down the path while trying to maintain my balance. Rope lines the path, but much room is left beneath the rope, leading to huge drop-offs down the mountain. Some of these slips were certainly scary, but it was a great chance for family bonding and just an overall great time.
What really makes Yosemite is its natural beauty. While it does contain a lot of other people, the park doesn't seem overcrowded, and is kept in sparklingly clean condition. Huge old growth trees are everywhere and make for a feeling of being all alone with nature, even though people are walking by all over the place. The snow covered mountains are also magnificent, and no trip to Yosemite would be complete without viewing Half-Dome at least once. Many lakes and waterfalls can also be seen, the most noticeable of which is the beautifully huge Nevada Falls. Giant Sequoias reside alongside beautiful wildflowers which make for just an overall beautiful atmosphere. We took another hike through the woods which was quite a bit easier than our first, but took us through some of the smaller growth forests. Still spectacular, lakes, smaller trees, and animals made this trip a nice reprieve from our earlier, much more difficult hike. Since this hike was easier, there were a lot more people, and anyone looking to get away from crowds should probably stick to the harder hikes down the mountains.
The dazzling nature display wouldn't be fully complete without mention of the wildlife living within Yosemite. Unfortunately, while we were warned about bears before our stay in the park, we did not encounter any, or even get a glimpse of one during our stay. Coming face to face with one probably wouldn't have been so great, but not seeing one at all was certainly the only disappointment of the trip. Deer were everywhere within the park and we could literally not step outside without seeing plenty of these graceful animals. Smaller animals also reside within the park in droves, the most notable of which were squirrels and many beautiful species of birds.
Yosemite offers many things within the park for everyone, such as restaurants and gift shops, but the main perk the park offers is just its sheer magnificent beauty. I would be hard pressed to find anything to detract from the park, other than that there are quite a few people there. However, given that we were there in the middle of the summer, this was hardly a surprise. Buildings and cars don't really fit into the natural beauty of the park, but most of the buildings are done in such a way as to give them a rustic look which befits the atmosphere of the park very well. The only thing that was wrong with my visit to Yosemite was that we just didn't have enough time to visit everything within the park. With a park as large as Yosemite, you really need more than a couple of days to see everything it has to offer, and if I were to visit again, I would definitely plan for a longer stay.
Very few places I have visited can even come close to comparing with the natural wonders contained within Yosemite. Even at 15 I was able to appreciate the wonders of this park. While smaller children might initially be awed at the mountains and waterfalls, they might get quickly bored with what is not exactly a high action vacation spot. Laid back and peaceful, Yosemite is just a wonderful place to get back to nature, if you can get away from the people. Highly recommended for anyone, this park is one of the more beautiful natural adventures that one can visit in this country. Still amazed by Yosemite's beauty, I look forward to the day when I will once again be able to visit this most majestic of Mother Nature's creations. And I guess I'll never find out, but my only question to this day is: Did they ever catch that fugitive?
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Volman
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Location: Straight from the Dec (Decatur/Atlanta), now in Knoxville, TN
Reviews written: 56
Trusted by: 50 members
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