A Dream Comes True!

The story of this day is a dream that came true for Gary. He has always wanted to see Yosemite. We had a beautiful sunny day and got an early start to the park from our campsite. Our plan for this day was to see Yosemite Valley. Even the drive there was beautiful and Taryn was delighted to spot a wolf crossing the road.

There is a free shuttle system set up to take you around this seven square mile area. We spent some time in the Village and checked that out. Gary decided to book a Valley Floor Tour for us. This was great fun and we certainly learned much more than we could have on our own. Our tour was led by Matt, a Park Ranger. It turns out he is from Shoreline, went to Shoreline Christian, is familiar with Lynden and Lynden Christian, and just graduated in December from Calvin College.

After the tour we went to Yosemite Falls. This is actually the best time of year to see all the falls here in Yosemite while there is still spring runoff. They call it "liquid thunder". There is an area at the base of the lower falls where you can climb up the huge rocks towards it and feel the spray. Gary and Taryn did this and both said it was a highlight of the day.

On our drive back out of the Valley Gary spotted people jumping out of their vehicles with cameras in hand. Taryn was the first to see a bear. We pulled off and joined the group in pursuit of four black bears that were brown. They stopped by some trees on the other side of a ravine and sat together looking at all of us looking at them. It was really cool...till a Park Ranger appeared and ordered us all back to our cars. As we were all obediently filing past him I heard him mutter something about "not being too bright." We thought it was amazing fun!

The three of us made Yosemite S'mores at the close of a great day and a dream come true.