May 14 - Yosemite Valley

The gorgeous view of the valley on our way in to Yosemite National Park.

Brrrrrrrrr!  We all woke a bit chilly this morning, so very hot showers ensued then after a huge brekky we went out to explore this magnificent part of the country. We sat through a short film showing the history of the Park and learnt a whole lot of information about the Sierra Nevada Range; it is 400 miles long and 80 miles wide; the granite walls and rocks were once buried beneath the earth and after they rose, they were shaped by glaciers and rivers over millions of years.

The granite rocks on either side of the valley are made up of minerals. These minerals are little crystals that give the rock its grainy appearance.

Claire did the Jnr Ranger Program here and is fascinated with how the rocks were formed. They are simply magnificent.  Her book gives the "Recipe for Sierra Granite":

Minerals needed:
Quartz
Feldspar
Hornblende
Biotite

Directions:
Heat rock deep in the earth to 1,800 F until liquid.
Stir ingredients well.
Let liquid rock rise to surface of earth.
Cool slowly until solid.
Shape with rivers and glaciers.

She then had to find acorns, a giant sequoia, pine needles bunched in three, and pine needles bunched in five (familiar Joshua?!).

We went to a Ranger Bear Walk and Talk and the Ranger showed us five skulls and spoke about their teeth.  He then asked us whether the skull was from a carnivore or a herbivore and then asked what we call an animal that eats both meat and vegetables. Claire was quick to call out, "omnivore" and impressed everyone present.  We then had to try to identify what animal each skull belonged to.

Sorry - tilt your head!

Herbivore:
Mule deer

Carnivore:
Mountain lion, coyote

Omnivore
Black bear of Yosemite (mainly eat insects, bees, termites, wasps, colonial. Use claws to rip apart logs and find paper wasp nests).

Grizzly bear (now extinct not only in Yosemite but all of California. The irony of it being that it is the emblem on the California State flag.

We walked across the "meadow" as they are called here (regardless of if it's a large open paddock or a tiny little bit of grassed area outside the café), and tried to spot a bear - without success.  The Ranger told us all that if we see one, we must keep three bus lengths away from it.  I laughed - more like 30 bus lengths away!

Is that a bear in there?!

After the bear walk we checked out the camping ground - in readiness for future visits. The tents we are staying in are great, but we're hankering to camp properly and the open fires and food cooking in the camp ovens has us wanting to return here with a camper, tent or trailer home.

Head tilt again - Claire sitting on our bear-box outside our tent.

We opted for a relatively early dinner and an early night, after playing "games" in the tent - ask Claire, she'll tell you all about the games:  "I'm going on a picnic, and I'm going to take ....... and I can go!"  There's a pattern to the game and the 'new' players have to work out the pattern.  It was real fun.