Ode To Yosemite

Oh Yosemite. You mean so much to me. Every summer you shine a little positive light on my summers year after year. You are a green and gray masterpiece carved by God's glacial hand. A land where the bluest sky meets streaks of granite minerals surrounded by century old trees. A place of beauty, adventure, and history. Without you Yosemite, my life would not be the same. For you have bestowed so much upon me in my childhood years, running into my adolescent and young adult years. Yosemite you are my past, present, and my future.

Yosemite is a marvelous place. I could talk about it for hours, but don't worry I won't. Yosemite has had a tremendous impact on my life personally and everyone who has entered its gates. In the presence of its beauty for the first time it is hard not to be.

Let me tell you a few things about my history with Yosemite. I am not sure how many times I have been officially, but I know its over 10 for sure. I have always gone in the summer, but one of these days I would love to see Yosemite in the snow. I was 2 years old when I first went to Yosemite and I have the scars to prove it. I got chicken pocks when I was two when I went to Yosemite that year. I still have a few scars from it on my face if you've never noticed. So my first trip to Yosemite was an interesting way to start my Yosemite vacation tradition. One trip to Yosemite I embarked on was with James' family a couple years ago. That was a notable year. That was the year I successfully climbed Half Dome. More importantly, that was the year I drove a knife into my thumb before the Half Dome hike. I had never bled so much in my life. James remembers it very vividly. The third trip that was very notable was the first time I went without parental supervision. Last year I did the trip with 3 of my friends and not with family members. That was definitely a memorable year for me because It was new, different, and exciting. Every time i go to Yosemite I encounter new experiences and no two trips are the same. However each year I go, the only thing that does not change is my love for the park and the fun I have.

Yosemite is such a remarkable place. Huge granite walls and domes encompass the valley floor of the park. These granite structures are not just boring old mountains you can find anywhere. These mountains are very interesting to sight see. Half Dome, El Capitan, North dome, Sentinel Dome, they are all amazing. and that's just to name a few. Yosemite is not just in the valley where the main tourism takes place. Thousands of square miles encompass the valley to protect the valley's beauty. This is thanks to John Muir who discovered the park, and fought to hard to protect it. John Muir is also a personal hero of mine. He convinced the hunting enthusiast Theodore Roosevelt to declare Yosemite valley and miles around the valley a state park. Yosemite has such a rich history too. Did you know the Buffalo soldiers were stationed to protect Yosemite?

There is so much I can talk about Yosemite and I know I will leave out major details, but for time purposes I will be brief. Yosemite is a great place. It has been very influential in my life personally. Every year it has hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the globe (especially Japan and Germany). Yosemite is also a very historical place as well. Mountains, domes, hikes, meadows, waterfalls, deer, bears, camping, rock climbing, rafting, Yosemite has it all. I could do one liners all day. I believe everyone should go see Yosemite at least once in their lives. Even if you are not the nature type, you will like Yosemite. So go dammit!

Foreigner song of the day:

"Urgent"

A classic song. I'm sure you have heard this song, you just don't know it. It has been used in thousands of commercials.