Day 13 - Thu 07 May

Upper Yosemite Falls
We had an early start this morning, and headed straight for Yosemite falls. You can hike to the very top, but that's a 3,000 foot rise and an 8 hour round trip! We decided just to view the falls from the bottom..
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Lower Yosemite Falls
It was really sunny, but the bottom of the falls was very wet!
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Half dome in the morning sun
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Is it Woody?

Da na na na nah, da na na na nah ...
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The famous Yosemite "Black" bear
We couldn't believe our luck when we saw "Yogi bear". He was just ambling along in the woods by the road, so we got out to take some pictures. Although he is brown he is technically a "black" bear. Only 9% of the bears are actually black. Elaine was so excited, but hid behind two large guys to take the photos, she's not daft you know ... well maybe a little. :))
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Bear on the move
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He obviously had a hard morning and needed a rest
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OK, OK ... maybe he isn't a he?
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She checked us out, but decided Elaine

would only be a snack!
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Brialveil Falls
After seeing the bear, we drove to Bridalveil falls, which looked stunning from a distance.
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It was like a monsoon at the base of the falls
Elaine trying to protect her camera, hold Elmo,
and have her photo taken, not an easy task ...
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Wet or what?
...she was drenched!
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Two wet bums
So were Peter and Elmo!
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All that water swells the rivers
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Yosemite Valley Chapel
You really couldn't find a prettier setting for a chapel.
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Blossom
Looks very Japanese.
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Another cute squirrel
Elaine does love looking for squirrels :)
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Black salamander

Well, Peter thinks it is, and he's the expert,
bearing in mind he doesn't recognise a blackbird in England!
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"What's that?" we hear Elmo say to his new friend!
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Mirror lake
Although the light was good at the lake there wasn't a lot of "mirror" because of the amount of flowing water. Not bad though?
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A "painting by numbers" reflection
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More reflections
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Elaine experimenting...
Well, lets face it she hasn't taken enough photos yet!
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The end of the day
It was a long day, but we'd seen everything we wanted to. Just the walk back to the shuttle bus, and the drive out of the valley.
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One final view of the valley
We stopped off at tunnel view, the last overlook before leaving the valley. Looking fantastic in the evening light... the view was pretty good too :) Then back to the hotel, we're moving on tomorrow.
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Driven today - 113 miles
Running total - 2,101 miles

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