Yosemite National Park

There was an air of anticipation as we followed the winding tarmac trail of Highway 120 upwards into the hills. Once again the scenery changed. This time it was from grassy meadows to dense pine forest - much of which looked like it was staging a comeback after a recent forest fire. Once through the park gates, you get a few distant views of the valley, then suddenly as you round a corner, you're welcomed in by the gigantic cliff of El Capitan and the striking view of Half Dome.

We had to pull over and take a proper look; to try and take it all in. As with the Grand Canyon, seeing is believing! It is so big! And perfectly clean rock; no bushes, dirt or lichen, just a vast sweep of glistening granite. We were impressed!

It's hard to know where to look here. Every time we went to walk somewhere, I had to keep stopping to prevent me from walking into a tree or off the path as my eyes were constantly being drawn upwards! We took a look up at Bridal Veil waterfall, and Yosemite falls which was was pouring over a cliff as we made our way down to Yosemite village.

At Yosemite village, we stopped briefly at the visitors centre before continuing on to our campground to check in. The campgrounds were all fully booked (except camp 4, which is walk in only). We reserved our site five months ago to ensure a place! It's unbelievable really, but we booked it a day after the first possible booking date, and a few days later the whole campground was reserved! Talk about prior preparation! It's made us really glad though, that we are not here in peak season as we were sat in a que for fifteen minutes just to get into the campground! It's all worth it though as this is the view of Half Dome just up the valley!

Once in, we found our reserved spot and made camp. There are bears about around here and you can get fined for leaving food in your tent or car (which can attract them into destroying your car in an attempt to get at the food!). Our first job then was to give the van a spring clean! Then once we'd located all the bits of food, snacks and other perfumed items we had to lock them all in out 'bear proof box' that each camp site has.

Then it was off for an explore! Only a few minutes walk from the tent is Glacier Point Apron, which is another huge sweep of granite that just goes up and up and up. It's impossible to get any sense of scale looking up.

Before it got dark, we drove around to Yosemite Falls to scope out some more of the cliffs that we'd like to climb. Some are very close to the path and some need more of a hike, but all of the ones we saw looked great. And wherever you look, the views are stunning.

The skies completely cleared just before dark and a little crescent moon has risen. Unlike the dusty desert camps, the air here seems much clearer and the stars much brighter.