California, 25th October, joining the throng in Yosemite Valley
Coming down the way from Glacier Point you pass Tunnel View, a famous overlook immortalised by Ansel Adams' photograph " Clearing Winter Storm" which was taken from just above here, where the old road used to travel. By the time we got to Tunnel View the car park was full of coaches and the panorama of the valley could not be seen for tourists of all nationalities jostling for position. We did an about turn and drove down to the parking area around El Capitan and walked to the bottom of Bridal Veil Falls. The falls are so called as the wind causes the water to spray out at the top in a veil. Unfortunately there is not a lot of water in October, but I did take a photo to show the effect. El Capitan, a face of sheer granite, rises 3,000 ft from the valley floor. On the opposite side are Cathedral Rocks, pretty ambitious in their own right and we had a short walk around here. Sticking to the tourist trail we landed at the Ahwahnee Hotel a very posh venue w...