Yosemite: Glacier Point

It took a lot of willpower not to jump out of the car with the camera yesterday, and the trend continued today. Since we were quite close to the road to Glacier Point we resisted the temptation to head straight to Yosemite Valley (which is on the way to our other accommodation tomorrow). Drove nearly to the end of the road before stopping at one of the short walks we had planned: just over a mile to the top of Sentinel Dome.

We got to the foot of Sentinel Dome when Aisha looked up and declared there was no way she was climbing up that. So Lucas and I forged on ahead and made it with no carrying. The views are spectacular: Half Dome to the North, El Capitan to the South, and the valley in between. Yosemite epitomises two of my greatest hobbies: El Capitan is probably the most famous rock climb in the world, and Ansel Adams is probably the most famous landscape photographer in the world. It's great to finally be in this place.

After waiting for Esther to go up and return we headed on to Glacier Point. From here the views are even more impressive, though not as rewarding as you only walk about 200m. It is also pretty packed with tourists, though as you are on the edge of a precipice they can't get in between you and the view.

Another magical moment awaited me back at the lodge. Our neighbour is the caretaker and we have been chatting a bit from porch to porch. Suddenly he drove up asking if we wanted to see a bear. Sadly the kids were in the bath, so as the family's official photographer I hopped into the car and followed him. No sign of bears at first but then I saw one cross the road just in front of us. Hopped back into the car and drove a few metres to get a ringside view of a brown juvenile foraging for food in the forest.