Happy 150th Birthday to Yosemite National Park! And after all these years, it’s the best-looking 150-year-old around!
So what’s it to visit Yosemite?
What is it about Yosemite which has sparked the imagination of visitors for over 150 years?
Imagine seeing the biggest trees you’ve ever seen, Giant Sequoia redwood trees, some stretching up nearly as high as a 30-floor skyscraper.
Imagine seeing affects of icy glaciers so huge that they sliced through solid rock to produce one-of-a-kind granite formations like Half Dome and El Capitan.
Imagine seeing vistas and mountain-high views of Yosemite Valley so jaw-dropping that they have names like “Inspiration Point.” Scenes so awe-inspiring that they excited the imagination of writers like John Muir and artists like Ansel Adams.
Yosemite is so amazing to see and experience that when the US President Theodore Roosevelt first looked out over Yosemite Valley, he proclaimed, “”It was like lying in a great solemn cathedral, far vaster and more beautiful than any built by the hand of man.”
Pretty cool, right?
Well, now imagine if all of these natural wonders disappeared years ago, paved over by modern development, parking lots, and condos. What a shame that would have been! But fortunately, 150 years ago, some very smart and progressive individuals had the idea for the Yosemite Grant, the first-ever attempt to set aside land for the public trust.
People like Abraham Lincoln, John Muir, and Theodore Roosevelt pushed for the Yosemite Grant so that future generations could experience the same beauty they saw in Yosemite. In 1864, while the Civil War raged, and even before National Parks were established, the Yosemite Grant was signed into law by the US Congress, and to this day you and I can still experience pretty much the same untouched wilderness of Yosemite.
So are you ready to see Yosemite for yourself? Are you ready to be inspired?!
Join us for the Total Yosemite Experience with a Yosemite day trip from San Francisco.
Posted by Helena Angsten 9/30/2014
