Yosemite

Ashleigh and Jordan were excited about seeing the horses at the stable.

Ashleigh and this gentle horse come eye to eye as she works up her courage to pet him.

Ashleigh proved herself to be quite a hiker as we set out on our quixotic quest for Mirror Lake. Jeff remembered it like the above, when he and Mark swam in the cold water.

Unfortunately the combination of silting and drought has taken its toll and the idyllic Mirror Lake is no more. Jeff, Rod and Ashleigh walked on ahead up the slope to Mirror Lake and then came back to tell the others that they needn't continue to it.

We all settled down for a snack on the slope toward Mirror Lake. That brought out this fellow, a fine specimen of the Yosemite variety of squirrel. Someone dropped a piece of banana, so the squirrel immediately seized this opportunity and sat up on a rock close to us to eat it (below).

We took the shuttle back around to the Village and got a very different view of Halfdome than the silhouette view we had gotten early this morning. Now it is crisp and sharp in the afternoon sun.

With their Junior Ranger vests, Ashleigh and Jordan get a picture with one of the Rangers who was patroling the area. At right, Darla and Ashleigh walk along the meadow in full view of Halfdome.

From the meadow east of the Village is one of the classic views of Halfdome, the most recognizable signature view of Yosemite. The next day we got a view of Halfdome from up on the Tioga Pass road.

Since we had disappointed the girls in not being able to swim at Mirror Lake, we had to find a place to swim. Fortunately, the Merced River in the valley offered many places to swim in the clear water of the river.

Besides offering a nice shallow area for the girls to play in, the river gave Jeff a good place to swim in the middle of the clear river.

After a long and varied day of adventure at Yosemite, we headed back to Merced through the goldern grassy hills of central California.