Yosemite Sam, er, Karl!!

It was our third day in Yosemite – and I hit the trails so much I am sore this morning! But I have discovered that you haven’t experienced Yosemite until you get out of the car, off the main roads, and up into the hills, it gets even better!


I have pictures at home of me on this sign as a kid!


Met some monks from Burma along the way.

My first destination was, of course, Inspiration Point. Sara trusted me to climb up into the rocky cliffs in search of inspiration. (There was enough inspiration for her just overlooking the Tunnel View, the #1 photographed spot in the park – it is breathtaking enough!)

Not sure if I got to the Inspiration Point, but I did get to the point where I was inspired. The trail was hard to follow, and I think I finally lost it… (or it went off a cliff and was a mean trick!) So after that, I had to forge my own trail, going where no hiker has ever gone before. (I hope!)

Me right before the log fell thousands of feet to the valley below!

Back in the valley, we enjoyed walking around. I found this cool log. We took a bunch of fun pictures from inside and out of this log…


Never stop while you are a head.


Peeking Sara!

My next hike was to Vernal Falls. It looks pretty short on the map, and is only supposed to be a few miles, but the map doesn’t show the stairs that rival those in the Lord of the Rings / Return of the King that Frodo and Sam climb! I was supposed to be back to meet Sara at 4pm, I didn’t get to the top of the falls until 4pm! I was worried that she was worried, but it turned out that she was just worried that I’d be worried that she was worried. And I hadn’t even worried about that!

An hour in and still thousands of stairs left to go!

The hikers on the way down looked wet, exhausted, but happy, and each claimed it was worth the hard hike still ahead… so I pushed on.


Just a few of the thousands of stone stairs…


The rainbow at the base was gorgeous.

It was worth it at the top. Photos will be in the gallery later. The trip down was a lot faster, if not easier! But I did the way down in 45 minutes, compared to over two hours to get up there. (Granted, I wasn’t stopping to take pictures or pet bears on the way down.)

The third hike was with Sara to Mirror Lake. What a beautiful place. Very peaceful and relaxing. We just sat there for awhile and enjoyed being so close to some of God’s greatest creations. I’ll spare you the profound thoughts – but I had lots of them. :)


The reflection is almost clearer than the real thing!

Mirror Lake is at the foot of Half Dome, my favorite mountain in the world. I really enjoyed being there and studying it, and trying to imagine climbing it, tracing possible paths with my eyes. Again, I will spare you all the profound thoughts – but this place forces you to contemplate life and your small fleeting part in the drama of God’s Creation.


Contemplating the Eternal Mysteries of the Dome.

The last highlight of the day, was seeing a coyote and some deer, and then the Daddy Deer chasing the coyote away!


Coyote on the prowl, I had to chase him to get this shot.

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Kidologist

Karl Bastian is the founder of Kidology.org, the creator of ToyboxTales.com, and the author of OrderoftheAncient.com. His personal website is Kidologist.com He is Big Kid with a passion for equipping and encouraging those who minister to children.

2 Comments:

  1. Inspirational it is!

  2. did you try any jedi mind tricks on the monks?

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