Cherish is my favorite word, and I cherish the ability of turning the routine into a beautiful moment.
Nature creates in me, a spiritual and meditative time to bring peace, harmony and balance, into an otherwise ordinary day~
Mary Howell Cromer







Saturday, October 20, 2012

A Dream Journey Comes True~



 For most of my adult life, I have enjoyed the pleasure of several national parks.  
There have been 3 though, that I had wanted to visit even more than the others...
Olympic National Park in Washington...we are going next September.
Acadia National Park...still pending
 and 
Yosemite National Park was right at the top of my list.  
This was the year to finally make that long awaited dream a reality and I must say, it was everything that I dreamed it would be.  
The majesty, the awe inspiring views, every direction that you looked was draped in splendor!  
The weather channel had called for rain, but we never saw a drop and that made it even more special, for it was easy to take some memory making photographs~

Come along and I will show you just a small glimpse of the beauty.  
I hope that you enjoy this post as well as the one that is previous to this one from the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.  
I published them both on the same day, since these 3 national parks align with one another by their boundaries.

~Enjoy~

 I am linking up with Mary for:

"Mosaic Monday" 


at:
http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/ 


 &

I am linking up with Stewart at:

Wild Bird Wednesday

(http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com.au/)


These awesome Sequoia and Ponderosa Pine trees were a wow moment!  
As most of you know by now, I absolutely adore trees, and so you can only imagine what it was like to be among these giants of the earth.  
They can live well up to a thousand years, and can even survive fires.  
The texture of the bark really surprised me.  
It felt much softer, than it appeared.  
It was just so thrilling to walk among these ancient trees and just stand in awe~


 A Western Red-tailed Hawk was the first of the wildlife that I saw upon entrance to the park.  It was on the hunt for breakfast when we arrived near the park entrance~
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 







34 comments:

  1. Holy cow! Your photos are gorgeous! I can only imagine what it was like in person. That scenery is incredible! Love the shots of the hawk and deer! I'm glad you got to visit and mark that one off the list. It's absolutely beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Brilliant Mary, it would take me 3 months to photograph every thing, and it wouldn't have started.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Again, just awesome photos--nice job!

    ReplyDelete
  4. fabulous mountain views. the waters, too. love the deer photos. so cute. and your pup-cub, too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is near the top of my dream list, too. I have never been there and never seen those amazing trees. You surprised me describing the bark as soft. It reminds me of what I thought of the sand at the beach before I actually experienced it. I wondered how anyone could walk on it...I never knew it could be packed down and easy to walk on. You've taken amazing photos as always and used the words I would choose...majesty, splendor...so fitting for these magnificent scenes!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh my gosh! I love this post and want to go there so badly. I have to move it up on our visit list!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great shots of Yosemite, Mary! I always loved seeing shots of Half Dome. It is a beautiful park. And great captures of the hawk and cute deer. Beautiful photos.

    ReplyDelete
  8. A place we would love to go. your photos are beautiful. Now that we have our lifetime. national park entrance passes!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ohmygosh stunning views and the trees, they are hugh. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Just wonderful...love the colors of the final photos. My favorite photos are of the deer who has the most remarkable expression on his face...curiosity and something else that I can't quite decide.

    ReplyDelete
  11. as the first commenter says - holy cow Mary! I believe I've not seen more beautiful photos of this national treasure. your photos are truly amazing Mary. I'm very happy that you realized a dream. It was worth the wait by evidence of these splendid photos. happy week to you. take good care now.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Your photos are awesome.
    I have a feeling about trees too, they are like the elder statesmen of our natural world. Especially trees such as these ancient redwoods.
    In New Zealand where I am, we have a native tree called the Kauri. The oldest one named Tane Mahuta (Maori for King of the Forest) is sacred and is said to be 2000 years old.
    A wonderful post - thank you.
    Shane ♥

    ReplyDelete
  13. A dream trip of a lifetime Mary to see those trees in all their majestic size and glory. You have such wonderful natural sites in the US, places I will only ever see on the TV or in books, and now in your superb photographs.

    ReplyDelete
  14. these views and mountains and trees are amazing! Oh wow! thank you so much for taking us their Mary. I love visiting National Parks they have some of our most precious and awe-inspiring natural treasures.
    I have seen a Sequoia tree - there are a few planted in a arboretum in our south west.
    Have a wonderful week.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wonderful photos. I'm so glad that these areas are preserved for the future and for our enjoyment. A gift to all who visit.
    The hawk is impressive, sitting there so watchful on the tree.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your nature photos are very beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
    ~Clara

    ReplyDelete
  17. incredibly beautiful areas, amazing scenery, lovely and interesting shots!
    looks like a fantastic place to visit.thank you so much for brightening my day.

    i totally enjoyed my visit here.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Yeah! So glad you were able to visit Yosemite! Looks like you had a fantastic time and captured all sorts of great memories, so happy for you! Sorry I've been out of the loop- my internet connection is pretty bad so it takes forever to load blogs (or put up a new one for that matter!). Hope you're well!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Spectacular photos! What a great trip you had! :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Mary,

    Wow! What gorgeous photos of the mountains and majestic trees. I'm so glad one of your dream trips have come true.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Great photos of an absolutely fantastic place.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Absolutely loved every shot in this post. Thanks for taking us with you.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Wow. Wow. Wow what a wonderful trip that must have been. I love your photo's and what they show of that beautiful world. Have a nice day.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Great pictures - the hawk is splendid. I have been to two of the NP's on your wish list! Yosemite and Olympic - both were stunning.

    We arrived at Yosemite at night under a nearly full moon - it was one of the most remarkable things I ever seen. El Cap was like a pillar of glowing ice and I had Kodachrome 64 in the camera and no chance of getting a picture - oh for a time machine or an air ticket!

    Cheers and thanks for linking to WBW

    Stewart M - Australia

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi Mary.....breathtaking photos,you must have realy enjoyed yourself.Is that your G S D dog ? i had one for years he went every place wiyh me. GREAT BLOG.




    peter

    ReplyDelete
  26. Gorgeous. I'm so following you. I love nature. I have always wanted to go to Yosemite too. My daughter has been there and she said it was the most beauiful thing she had ever seen in her life. Thanks for visiting my blog. Have a blessing of a day. :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. I am SO happy you got to go ... it really is awesome and your pictures do it justice. Beautiful post.

    It's wonderful that the hawk was there waiting for you...as if the word was passed across the country to expect someone who loved them!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Wow these trees are enormous! I dont know if I have seen enormous trees like that in Panama! Not sure! But these ones are wonderful Mary and you got so many good and beautiful pictures there. I envy you to visit such places!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thanks for sharing these awesome photos from your dream journey. I enjoyed them all.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Oh Wow! Great photos!! I have not been to that part of our country and appreciate your sharing it with us.
    Thanks for stopping by.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Beautiful series!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

    ReplyDelete
  32. What a splendid trip and experience! I' been down the west coast from Vancouver to San Francisco and thoroughly enjoyed your redwood shots. Magnificent scenery indeed. Love the shot of the deer where he looks like a Christmas decoration.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Oh my, Mary!! I am in awe!! My parents took at holiday numerous years ago doing some of the US National Parks and Yosemite was one of them. Those mountains and the scenery is absolutely stunning!!

    I hope one day to return to the States and visit Yosemite and a few others. I would also love to see the Grand Canyon again now that I have a deceny camera and am much older!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Fabulous photos of a great trip Mary! The Sequoias are truly magnificent. It always amazes me how they can grow right out of the rock!

    ReplyDelete

I enjoy each visitor to "Red Shouldered Hawks of Tingsgrove and Beyond" I truly appreciate those who have become followers to my blog and really am encouraged by the wonderful comments.
FYI if you leave ANONYMOUS comments, they will never get published, so please don't waste your time.

Thanking you~