Our first glimpse of Yosemite Valley!
It was a breathtaking moment.

The view was so great- and everything was quiet,
we enjoyed watching the sun come up higher.

John Muir,
naturalist and Sierra Club founder, called it
"a landscape...that after all my wanderings still appears
as the most beautiful I have ever beheld..."

Earthquakes, glaciers and other forces of nature
over millions of years left indelible footprints
on the landscape that are still visible
in the towering granite cliffs, thundering waterfalls,
steep mountains and deep alpine lakes.
They beckon visitors to explore, climb, photograph
and experience their grandeur.

This land is so majestic and magnificent
that it was the first territory ever set aside
by Congress for public use and protection in 1864.

The picture below is the view we had from our tent in Yosemite Valley.
It shows the first rays of the sun coming up over the mountain.

On October 1, 1890 the US Congress set aside
more than 1,500 square miles of reserved forest lands,
soon to be known as Yosemite National Park.

Today 94.5% of the park's 1,170 square mile area
is dedicated as true wilderness
for all who visit to enjoy.

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