On June 23, 2001, I met a
tall, handsome man who I encountered on one of the first online dating
websites. That was 16 years ago & the rest, as they say, is history! Lou & I headed out for an overnight getaway to the Sierra foothills & Yosemite National Park to celebrate our many years
of unwedded bliss!
 |
| The first day we drove to California Caverns which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere in the Sierra Foothills. It is about an hour from Sonora where we had a nice dinner & spent the night. This cave tour is a bit more primitive than most that we have visited. |
 |
| Don't you love the "construction helmets"? I whacked my head more than once in this cave so they were much appreciated. There are four caves open for tours in the general area. I had been to all of them 30+ years ago with my family. My dad so eloquently said we all looked like "meat packers" as my parents & grandparents posed for a family photo at this same cave back in the 1980s. |
 |
| Caves are some of the hardest places to get photos that really convey the beauty of these underground wonders. The formations tend to give you an other worldly feeling. |
 |
| The lighting does enhance many of the formations but you really need to take a cave tour to truly experience the unique beauty of caves. We've been to a lot of them & plan to see a bunch more. |
 |
| California Caverns fills with water during the winter. With the huge amount of rain this year only 4 of the 7 rooms were available to tour. This room was underwater - you can see the railing where a walkway existed that would require swimming to get to the other side. This cave involved ducking under numerous formations, grabbing muddy rocks & traipsing through puddles. We emerged with filthy hands & mud covered shoes but it was definitely fun! |
 |
| My sweetie loves taking picnic lunches on all of our adventures. I keep threatening to go back through all of our trip photos to find the pictures of all our various picnics in amazing (& crazy) locations to make a photo book. |
Day two of our adventure
involved an early morning start for Yosemite
National Park. The huge melting
snowfall this year has the rivers & waterfalls literally raging throughout
the park. It is an awesome sight to behold but, alas, thousands of other people
had the same plans & it was the most crowded we had ever seen Yosemite.
 |
| On our way to Yosemite we stopped at a New Melones Reservoir overlook to take a picture of this cloud formation. |
 |
| Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in the United States & the 5th tallest in the world. This year it was roaring! The flooded meadow in Yosemite Valley reflected the falls. |
 |
| Upper & Lower Yosemite Falls - a spectacular site! |
 |
| We hiked to the base of Lower Yosemite Falls. The massive falls created a wind storm & drenched anyone nearby.. I got my camera ready with my back to the falls then quickly removed the lens cap, turned & snapped the photo! |
 |
| The Merced River was literally raging at the base of Lower Yosemite Falls. |
 |
| My favorite photo op in Yosemite is "Tunnel View". It is a turnout on the road to Wawona & Glacier Point that gives you a view of El Capitain, Half Dome & Bridal Veil Falls - all in one shot! |
Lou has always said that Yosemite is his favorite place in the entire world. He
thinks this was probably at least his 12th time exploring Yosemite.
We have visited the park 5 times together & I'm sure we'll be back many
more times. The view from Glacier Point is incredible to say the least.
 |
| From Glacier Point you are about 4000 feet above the valley floor which offers a breathtaking view . This photo is of Half Dome with Nevada & Vernal Falls on the right. |
 |
| Half Dome is the signature sight of Yosemite. A couple of years ago Lou finally managed to climb to the top of it! He mentioned today (or rather yesterday) that he can't believe he actually made it to the top! |
 |
| Nevada Falls (the top one) was flowing like crazy along with Vernal Falls. I have hiked to the base of Vernal Falls many times in my life. I've been to the top of Nevada Falls once & it was quite an experience! |
Yosemite is a photographer's
paradise. Here are a few more photos that caught my attention. And, of course, you
know that I had to include a couple of unique flowers & plants (or pretty
weeds) along the way.
 |
| The foam caused by the moving water accumulated between this log & the shore making for some interesting patterns. |
 |
| This stop is called Valley View showcasing El Capitain on the left & Bridal Veil Falls on the right with the Merced River in the center. |
 |
| A cluster of white wild flowers. |
 |
| We are pretty sure this is called "Milk Weed" & it is some sort of thistle plant. |
 |
| There were butterflies everywhere in Yosemite Valley! Lou spotted these two resting on a rock far away. I was able to zoom in & get a shot of them before they flew away. |
