The Thin Blue Ride: The Thin Blue Ride - Part 1

Yosemite – Day 2

Yosemite, CA: 0 Miles (RV)

So – here’s the cliff notes version of a day at Yosemite National Park: Drive into the valley, park scooter, look @ map and get on shuttle bus, get off bus, hike up-hill to amazing view of mountain/waterfall, hike down-hill to shuttle bus. Repeat as desired. Take shuttle back to gift shop, buy cool ball-cap, walk to scooter, return to RV – tired and with sore feet, but happy.

For those of who want the view from 30,000 feet, there ya go. You can go back to checking your e-mail and text messages. For those of you interested in a bit more detail, check out the rest of the blog below. The reader should be advised that this post may have more than the normal number of pics as the day was…

AMAZING!

Here we go…

The Muir Trail on the way up to Vernal Falls. Bah - this is a cake walk. Dunno what they mean when they describe this hike as "Strenuous". The smile means we don't know what's coming.

We thought this was just a good photo-op. A very nice lady agreed to take this one for us.

Hmmm.... The grade is pitching up, but I'm still smiling!

OK - now things are getting serious, but at least the Park guys were kind enough to make steps for us. Still easy peasy... "The Mist Trail"

Susan was so eager to get there that she was racing ahead. Typical... Still on "The Mist Trail".

OK - this is serious. The last person in line is my lovely bride - who is afraid of edges. How she pulled this off I've no idea. Gumption? It had to be hard for her, but there she goes. She later described the rail as "wobbly". Still on "The Mist Trail."

When they said we'd get wet on "The Mist Trail" they weren't kidding. Those Park guys/gals know what they're talking about, by gosh - at least occasionally. I suggest they re-name it "The Downpour Trail" and will be recommending same to the Park guys/gals. Check out the jacket and the beard. This is all mist blowing back from the waterfall. Thank God for Gore-Tex. Readers who look closely will note flecks under the brim of my hat and in front of my face. If it were falling down instead of moving up/sideways, I'd call it mist.

Still on "The Mist Trail" below Vernal Falls.

We finally made it. Time for lunch! And a great spot for it too.

After lunch it was up, up, up. The Park guys/gals discourage anyone going back down "The Mist Trail" for fear of people slipping and falling on the wet granite. The long and short of this "suggestion" is a slightly longer, but much drier trip back to the trail head. We're both already dry.

Still above Vernal Falls. This is Nevada Falls in the background. Same river creates both. The trail continued on up to Nevada. Susan was game, but my left foot was killin me. Fortunately I married a sympathetic woman.

After visiting the falls it was off to Mirror Lake. A misnomer as the Park hydrologists (who get paid to know these things) have decided that its really not a lake. Its just a shallow pool of water created by a granite slide blocking the creek long ago. Sounds kinda like a lake to me, but far be it from me to argue with a Park hydrologist. I've heard those guys are an opinionated lot who don't take kindly to non-hydrologists mucking up their stuff. Anyway - it looked like this...