road trip!: wow, that's big!

(yes, yes, jason and i were in yosemite in april ;) hope you enjoy!)

yosemite: the birthplace of modern climbing.

as you drive into "The Valley," the roads are lined with purple flowers and large trees comprising of even more purple petals! ive never seen anything like it! then you arrive in The Valley, and you see gorgeous water falls. tall trees. meadows. and endless lines of cliffs - thousands of feet in the air. el capitan. half dome. yosemite is just as breathe-taking as everyone says.

summary:
- we spent 5 days in The Valley.
- we lucked out and got a campsite in the famous Camp 4.
- on the rest days, we spent a lot of time hiking around.
- we completed two big climbs: The Nutcracker 5.8+, and Snake Dike 5.7.
- we spent a few evenings in The Village across the street. one of those evenings, we watched a movie showing in the plaza: Vertical Frontier, narrated by Tom Brokaw. what an eye-opening film that describes the beginnings and evolution of rock climbing in yosemite. people did some crazy, crazy things. i highly recommend watching the movie.

fun Yosemite facts:
- Yosemite is the first area to be recognized and protected as a national park.
- the rock is made of compressed, crystallized magma that was formed underground and then pushed to the surface.
- there is no other "half" of Half Dome.
- the Valley itself was carved out by a glacier.
- Camp4 is a nationally recognized historic site.
- there are 10-15 bears living in The Valley.