James says:

Day 7: Yosemite! We made the trip from the bay through the valley to Yosemite National Park. We came in the south entrance to eliminate backtracking in the park. Our first stop was the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias. No false advertising there. The trees are huge, and I'm afraid that the photos won't give anything close to a fair representation of the immensity of some of these trees. I am so glad that the decision was made to stop logging these colossal specimens.

Since we started at the south-east corner of the park, and due to the road layout, we had a long drive through the park to our destination on the middle west side of it. We travelled north through the scenery, a welcome sight of lush forest of old growth timber. The drive was enhanced by streams, waterfalls, rock formations and great views of elevation changes.

I was especially impressed with the numerous long tunnels carved through the mountains. The inside of the tunnels were left in natural most of the time and it added to the feel of the park. The valleys seemed to have so much more definition with the addition of trees. We were high enough at times for there to be snow right beside the road, but I couldn't convince anyone to engage in a snowball fight besides Kel.

The waterfalls were spectacular, falling from great heights. As the water fell, it sometimes took on the appearance of smoke or spider web because the wind would reshape the flow as it fell. The tall falls tended to be mesmerising. The smaller falls were great to view, but I feel that without hearing the splashes and gurgles they lose a lot of their beauty.
Due to the elevation changes, it wasn't far between snow covered peaks and green meadow valleys. The water was surprisingly cold; I had expected a chill due to the elevation of the source, but even by the valley it was no less than frigid. Luckily I only waded in ankle deep.
The park took most all of the day, and was worth it. The only downside was the fact that the two lane roads can get backed up with traffic, making it hard to sightsee while driving. It is a constant barrage of scenery and I did enjoy it.
We stopped at Mammoth Lakes, Ca. for the night. Death Valley and Vegas tomorrow.