A one-day vacation in Yosemite

I don't think spring can happen without a visit to Yosemite when the dogwoods are blossoming!  So a couple Fridays ago I cleared my schedule, called a friend, and off we went to Yosemite.

I'm not sure when I last had such a perfect day.  It was a little slice of heaven.

We meandered around the valley and photographed the lovely dogwood blooms, attempted some blurred-motion water photos at Happy Isles (oops, I forgot my neutral density filters), hiked up to Vernal Falls, saw the shimmering rainbow that lives in the spray, got soaked on the Mist Trail, shared laughs, had flax crackers and peanut butter and meatballs (seriously!), and marveled at the lavish beauty all around us all day.

I'm always amazed how extravagant God is.  I mean, it's ridiculous.  Seriously?  Massive granite monoliths, thousands of feet high...soft green trees loaded with dozens of delicate white flowers...gushing waterfalls, every second of the day, for weeks on end...(Do you have any idea how much water goes over those falls every minute?  I don't but it must be a lot!)

So I tried to take it all in, mostly with my eyes, but sometimes with my camera.  :)  It's impossible to do justice to places like Yosemite Valley with a camera, but one can certainly enjoy oneself trying.  ;)

Sit back in your chair and relax...and maybe you can enjoy a mini-vacation while you view the photos.

Ribbon Falls, next to El Capitan, in all its spring snowmelt glory...

 

 Obligatory foot photo.  ;)

 

There are several apple trees at Curry Village.  Cracks me up to see apple blossoms in YosemiteValley.

 

On our way to Happy Isles, we came across this pathway art done by some hiker before us...haha...

 

Dogwoods and a sun star!  Doesn't get much better than that!

 

 

Then we headed up the Mist Trail to Vernal Falls...

 

Our "pre-waterfall" fisheye lens self-portrait. 

 

I love the rainbow that lives on the Mist Trail.

And now we're soaked.  And happy.

 

There are a couple pink dogwoods in the valley too.  I'm not sure if they're native but I love them!

 

And just before sunset we stopped along the Merced River, on our way out of the park...such pretty warm light...

Hope you enjoyed the mini-vacation too. :)

Kelsey

Discovering beauty... 

Kelsey Schweickert  |  San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer
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