Next, visualize a seven-mile-long, mile-wide valley with a river wandering through it.  Put towering gray granite cliffs on either side of the valley, some rising 3,000 feet.  The rocks are not evenly weathered, so picture smooth, sheer gray faces next to gnarled, twisted ones. Listen carefully and you’ll hear the sound of rushing water, one of the many waterfalls in the valley.

           

A few miles after the Big Oak Flat entrance, a vista point overlooks the valley with its famous rock landmarks: El Capitan, the Sentinal, and Cathedral Peaks; Glacier Point and Half Dome in the distance.  The road twists down into the valley, with the first stop at Bridal Veil Falls.  The water cascades down in a delicate lacy spray, and an easy walk leads to the base of the falls.

           

Yosemite Village is nestled below the cliffs close to the famous Yosemite Falls: if one combines the Upper and the Lower Falls these are the longest waterfalls in USA.  The Village has a good Visitors’ Center, a small museum spotlighting the story of the Native Americans in and around the valley, a post office (with its own zip code, so remember to send yourselves some postcards), a couple of stores, cafe, restaurant, Yosemite Lodge, and The Ahwahnee Hotel.

           

Housekeeping Camp, with permanent rustically-furnished tents, and Curry Village, are a little further on. The tents are spread out under huge trees, next to a loop in the river with a wide sandy beach, along which deer come in the early evening, treading skittishly. Be aware, however, of blood-thirsty mosquitoes; and bears, which can come to the camps at night looking for food.

The weeks before Memorial Day are a good time to go, before the summer crowds rush in, but after the spring thaw. In an 1870 letter, John Muir lamented “the tide of visitors” that flowed through the valley each summer.  We can only imagine his reaction to the flood of visitors today, estimated at about 4.1 million annually. The debate at the heart of the issue is preservation v. public access.

           

To get to the various walks, catch the shuttle bus, the Parks Board’s way of trying to cut down on traffic.  Some people hire bikes, or even horses, to ride around.

           

One morning, put on your walking shoes ready for a hike up to Vernal and Nevada Falls.   Hop off the bus at Happy Isles Nature Center, where the trail begins. A massive rockslide occurred here in 1996, the damage still evident, as most of the trees around are crushed and a huge gray fissure scars the cliff side.

           

You hike about a mile up to the bridge over the rushing Merced River (there are toilets and a water fountain here), then alongside Vernal Falls. It’s not called the Mist Trail for nothing, as you’ll get drenched and the rocks and switchback steps get very slippery. There’s a strenuous 2.4-mile trail up to Nevada Falls, or just sit on the bridge and soak up the scenery, dominated by Half Dome (8,852 feet), probably the best-known peak in the park.

           

Another easy stroll is the one-mile walk to Mirror Lake on Tenaya Creek, through a pretty wood, studded with white flowering Pacific Dogwoods, with magnificent views up to Half Dome.  It’s a magical place, cool and serene, the surrounding scenery reflected in the small lake, called the “Lake of the Shining Rocks” by the Yosemite Indians.  It’s the sort of place that invites quiet contemplation about the splendor and beauty of nature, and about how small and insignificant we are in comparison.

           

Probably the high point, both literally and figuratively, of your trip is standing on Glacier Point (a strenuous hike up of three or four hours, or a winding 30-minute drive behind the point) looking down on the valley a staggering 3,242 feet below and across to the mountains. It’s a panorama sculpted by the power of ice, the high country etched by glaciers. Squirrels and chipmunks scurry around looking for crumbs, and deer walk placidly over the path.

           

You can also drive to Tuolumne Meadows. Tioga Road winds through aromatic pine and fir forests, alpine meadows, wooded valleys, some still gleaming with patches of snow in late May, past little lakes, and amazing pines growing directly on the huge granite outcrops.  Stop at Olmstead Point, “A Domed Landscape”, with clear views across to Half Dome and the Sierras beyond.  Note wonderful examples of exfoliation, the rock peeling away like layers of an onion, and big boulders strewn about after glaciers melted.

           

Mariposa Grove in the southwest corner of the park has enormous sequoia trees with their distinctive cinnamon-colored bark.  Sequoias are the largest living things in the world: the diameter of their buttressed trunks can reach 30 feet, some can be up to 325 feet tall, and some are between 2,500 and 3,000 years old. The whole park makes one ponder the beauty and grandeur of nature, as John Muir did.  He was left speechless on his first trip here, describing the valley as “a grand page of a mountain manuscript, that I would gladly give my life to be able to read."