Marmite, Vegemite, Promite, Cheesy-mite...Yosemite...?

    We took a seven hour round-trip drive to Yosemite Park yesterday. We visited the Mariposa Grove of sequoias; Deborah is sequoia'd-out now, or "sufficiently sequoia'd", as she put it. 

    Usually there is five to twenty feet of snow in the park, but now there is still no snow pack, by the middle of January - since that snow pack is part of the water reserves for all of Southern California for the summer, they're beginning to worry. Even at the highest elevation, the coolest it was yesterday was 7° Celcius (we keep freaking out Americans by quoting Celsius figures instead of Fahrenheit). (Click to enlarge photos)

    We saw El Capitan, which rock climbers love - some take two or three days to climb it, with equipment, and hang from the vertical surface in their tents overnight. Others free-climb, with no safety equipment at all, I'm told. 

    We saw Bridalveil Fall - different spelling than the Bridal Veil Falls on Manitoulin Island, and farther to fall.  Utah also has a nice falls with the same name.  

    We wandered inside the magnificent old Ahwahnee Hotel, which is the grandest log cabin I've seen in my life, I think. Its interiors were the inspiration for Stanley Kubrick's movie sets for The Shining, although the exteriors for that movie were filmed at the Timberline Lodge.  

    This morning we've had a gentle time preparing to leave for Paso Robles, had breakfast and spent a couple of hours Skyping with Deb's and Danny's parents and siblings. This is the first time in thirty years that Deb has reconnected with Danny; their parents are siblings in Montreal, so it was fun to watch an online family reunion. Here we are with Danny, Mary, Andrew, Lucy the Chihuahua, Ash the Pug/Chihuahua, and Sparky the Labradoodle:     Of course you're wondering "What's with all the Packers shirts?" Danny and Mary are serious Packers fans, and there's a big game today; even Lucy has her own special shirt that she has to wear. 

    A last view of the scenic Yosemite Valley:

    Next destination: Paso Robles