SUNRISE / THE VALLEYS

Rising over rock domes, green spires, and the waterfalls of Nature's own outdoor cathedral, October’s morning sun is calling us.  We are voyagers in this valley, cradled within a topography like no other.  

"Yosemite", Miwok word for "Killer" as in the awe of California's Grizzly Bear wandering the chapparel and streams, in search of sustenance.  Wawona, once an indigenous encampment here, now welcomes any of us who wish to experience the wonder of this place possessing multiple vegetation zones, thousands of plant species, and biological and geological diversity beyond imagination.  

We sleep and wake by the campfire that glows like the sun.  While clutching a mug of camp coffee, it's time to plot our day.  Will it be a heart-stopping dive into a river's deeper pool, a heart-pumping trek up granite faces, or a heart-soothing view of the condor above us, circling aloft thermals as autumn colors paint the leaves around us?  It's Yosemite Valley in Fall.

Words by Kate McInerny