New year at Yosemite National Park

This was a much awaited short two day trip to the Yosemite National Park in California. The drive through the Wawona road was scenic with valleys, mountains, occasional meadows and tall trees on the sides.

Our first stop was the tunnel view, the spot right after you exit the tunnel. It is a complete view with the massive El Capitan (the Mac OS version is named after this rock) on the left, the Half Dome, the Sentinel Dome, Cathedral Rocks and the Bridalveil falls on the right.

We passed the bridalveil falls. It was just a short quarter mile trip to capture the closeup view of the falls, but we didn't do much hiking as my sister had hut her leg and couldn't walk.

We drove through the road with the majestic El Capitan to our left and the Half dome to our right. I found El capitan to be the most impressive - the sheer size of the rock is astonishing (the height of el capitan approximates 1 km).

We then stopped at the cute little Yosemite chapel.

The chapel faces the giant rocks and a small waterfall. I couldn't capture that on camera. That's my husband and me on the bench in front of the chapel.

Our next stop was the bridge over the Merced river that reflects the Half Dome. It was so beautiful with the trees lining the sides and some parts of the quiet clear water reflecting the beauty around and other parts giving a peek of the riverbed.

Winding up our first day's trip we stopped at Degnan's Deli for some freshly baked pizza and hot cocoa. What delighted me the most was the real fireplace with its burning embers. What is better than spending your new year's eve by the fire sipping your hot chocolate.

Happy new year Steemers!