On our way there, we stopped by the Kings River to do some cool white river rafting with the cool people of Zephyr.
It was Gao Qing's first rafting experience, and we both had the great opportunity of being sucked out of the boat into a powerfull rapid. Then ejected right under the boat.
We both miraculously remembered the safety tips and managed to come back up to the surface alive and well. It was quite a blast and I hope we will be doing it again in the future!
We then proceeded to the beautiful Yoesmite National Park.
The road there was a bit long, but incredibly scenic, a long tortuous road surrounded by giant sequoia trees. Our destination was a particularly well equipped camping colony, Curry Village. We got ourselves installed in a nice permanent tent, well-equipped with all the luxury in the world. Electricity, heating, a bed with nice sheets and pillows, and a padlock on the front door.
Over there, they take the threat of bears quite seriously. We were given detailed instructions about what would attract bears (even toothpaste) and were given access to a very nice and sturdy metal lockbox to secure all those goodies safe from bears. It was quite nice to watch a short video of a bear ripping thru a car window to get at some food in the car
The time we spent there consisted mostly of looking around at the fantastic granite mountains that surround the park from all sides. From those majestic rocks, you can find many beautiful and gigantic waterfalls, including the highest waterfall in North-America, Yosemite Fall.
We hiked all the way up to 5044 feet to the top of one of the waterfalls, Vernal falls. The view was amazing and it was quite something to look at the relatively quiet pond that was being sucked into the massive waterfalls and down 704 feet to crash into solid granite. Pretty cool view and nice pictures from there.
And all the pictures are in the gallery :
