Yosemite National Park

Road trip fever strikes again. Off to see a bit of the wilderness whilst the weather is fine and the fall colors are good. The Yosemite National Park is a good 5 hours from Santa Cruz which was great until darkness fell and the interior light remained on in the car. Soon fixed with duct tape and the darkness was much better to drive in.
Its exciting to arrive somewhere in the dark and have to wait till the morning to see what the scenery is like. Wow, yet again, amazing. The hostel nestled in a small wooded area, concealing everything until i headed out in the car. A large wide U shaped valley, lined with fir trees and bright yellow aspen wound through the landscape deeper into the park, revealing ever larger rocky summits and outcrops, often reflected in still mountain streams. The road ended in an area of car parks and visitor attractions in true US style, fields of rv's and tents, people enjoying the great outdoors before the weather turns too much. It had already snowed here a few weeks ago, but has melted since.
I had a good, energetic hike up to an impressive waterfall with Dan, an English lad from the hostel. It took us several hours and we had to race back in time to see the sun set from a highly recommended viewpoint way up on the side of the valley. We only just made it, with some crazy driving and a sprint through the scrub, just in time to catch the last rays of the day, followed by beautifully changing hues of pink and orange on the peaks and summits around.