If You Need Inspiration...

[Chris Johnston]

Wow! What a great few days in Yosemite! I'd love to have stayed for a couple of weeks but I think it would have killed me. It's a busy place but just a few feet off the road (staying on the trails) thins the crowd considerably! What a beautiful place.

 

[Zappa]

I was there a few years ago....loved it

 

[cascade]

Cool tree Chris!

-dorothy

 

[rlist]

Did you hit the high meadows on the north side of the park and through the east entrance? That is much less traveled then the valley, and is much more inspirational from the bonsai standpoint...

 

[Chris Johnston]

We did come in from the east on Tioga Road. My new avatar is a (possible) California Juniper we saw coming in. That was the time my camera batter decided to quit. we do have a few more photos of that area in my wife's film camera.

I also am saving some of the photos that mean the most to me for a thread in a less generic tone.

 

[Graydon]

I don't need inspiration Chris - I need a vacation! Thanks for getting me salivating over some places I need to get back out west and visit.

 

[Bonsaiforlife]

I do hope you were able to get a look at the giant sequoias in the park. They are undescribeably gigantic, and probably the largest tree you will ever see.

 

[Zappa]

since we're talking about big trees....and im on coffee...err coffee induced adhd....umm oh yeah big trees. If you ever get a chance to visit the pacific NW you have to visit the Grove of the Patriarchs. It's located in Mount Rainier.

 

[Chris Johnston]

I do hope you were able to get a look at the giant sequoias in the park. They are undescribeably gigantic, and probably the largest tree you will ever see.

Thanks for brining it up. We visited Mariposa Grove on the final morning of our stay. Some of the trees are immense. It's funny, though, the difference between the Mariposa Grove sequoias and the Muir Woods redwoods. Going to Muir Woods (just north of San Francisco) is like walking into a cathedral, with the west coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) standing tall and dominating most other growth.

Mariposa grove, on the other hand, has widely spaced giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) that are surrounded by lesser trees. This one feels more like a circus sideshow, "come see the freaks of nature!" Grizzly Giant is 29 feet across at the base, and is one of the largest trees in the world, by volume.

All in all, the whole trip was quite inspirational.