The Grand Canyon is a natural formation distinguished by layered bands of red rock, revealing millions of years of geological history in cross-section.

Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California. It is consistently ranked as one of the best national parks, and it ranks as one of my personal favorites.

First Trip (November 2019)

My first venture to Yosemite was as one of the many destinations for the great western road trip that my girlfriend and I embarked on in later 2019. Shipping off from Denver, Colorado, we stopped at many famous locations (including other national parks that can be found in this blog), with Yosemite being one of our favorites.

My first impression of the grand granite peaks was at nighttime. Coming from the desolate Nevada desert, the scenery quickly went from barren to forested as the car light illuminated columns of pine trees. It was only after an hour of driving did I realize I was driving along the great mountains with hundreds of feet of empty abyss just meters away from my speeding car. Never before has a mountain appeared so intimidating. I felt my skin sweat and my heart drop as I carefully maneuvered us to the lodge in the valley.

Dramatics aside, Yosemite is an impressive place. Given the time of year, crowds were not much of an issue, so we were able to slowly navigate around the valley. While we didn’t partake in any trails or check-off all the notable sights (we only gave ourselves three hours in the park), we had no trouble finding a rock to lay on and just appreciating the beauty of the valley.

Second Trip (October 2022)

My wife and I were lucky enough to return to Yosemite again, this time with more time and preparation. We were visiting my aunt and uncle in San Francisco and were able to make the modest three hour drive to the valley. This time, we made an effort to hike the 4-mile trail, which offered us more spectacular views of the valley from below, above, and everywhere in between. My favorite hiking memory will be Allie and me enjoying a French-style picnic at Glacier point with views of Half Dome and waterfalls in the distance.