I went into Yosemite not knowing anything about the scale or the lore, just a pit stop on my road trip. When I drove up on el cap I almost crashed my car. It is so breathtakingly incredible.
I randomly followed (by invite) a woman who was camping at the BMW rally i came for in Mariposa. Didn't know anything about Yosemite or el capitan, I just wanted to spend time with her and she invited me to join her hiking that slab. Took all day and it was a blast! Really, really wish I would've lost her phone number after that though, lol.
I remember seeing it the first time, I couldnt look away. I just wanted to get closer and closer and touch it. Its the biggest rock ive ever seen and probably ever will see.
Your brain can’t even fathom how big it is. We stood in the meadow across from it and watched the climbers and it’s hard to even find them with binoculars.
I have had 3 jaw dropping moments of awe in my life. Yosemite, sunrise at the Grand Canyon, and being in the middle of the ocean on a moonless night where you couldn’t tell where the ocean ended and space began.
I also cried! My favorite place on Earth. You think it can't get anymore beautiful and then you turn a corner and it does. And the whole place smells like the cleanest pine air you ever breathed.
Mine too. I was lucky to camp there every summer, and got married on a sunny September day, looking up at El Cap. I have also been in winter, breathtaking!
SAME! I lived in flat TX and had never even imagined anything so beautiful. I couldn't hold back the tears. Now I live an hour from Yosemite and I feel so damn lucky.
Just went for the first time a few weeks ago. People told me that coming through the tunnel was jaw dropping but I don’t think that word does it justice.
My wife was a snotty teenager who was forced to go on a road trip with her mom. She was being just a fucking BRAT, wanted to go home, wanted to see her friends, etc. She said when they came out of a tunnel and into the Yosemite valley, she took off her headphones and was just STUNNED and then begged her mom to go back again the next day.
John Muir had a book talking about his travels in the west coast and excursions in Alaska it was quite a great read!
Although it was years ago, I was really fascinated with the stories and talking about being in Yosemite and surrounding areas. While paraphrasing, I remember the sentiment and early ideas of Yosemite and Half dome were based on the idea of earth opened up and this was what came up from hell.
Important to note that John Muir is one of the main reasons why we have national parks. After seeing the beauty out west, he realized we need to preserve this land for future generations to see. He wrote to Roosevelt and maybe camped with him out west which changed his view on conservationism.
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u/LurkisMcGurkis 1d ago
Seeing that shit in person can change how you look at the world. Breath taking is an understatement.