Monday, October 18, 2021
Our next stop was the Yosemite Valley. The trip into the valley was nothing short of breathtaking. As we approached it, I couldn’t believe the view that I was getting from my side of the car. It continued to get better and better.
We spent the rest of the day in Yosemite Valley since the road to Glacier Point was closed. I was OK with that, every direction I looked at, it was unique and different. It is not one of those places that you see once and mark it off the list of places that you have seen. The clouds rolled by, the light changed and it kept illuminating different things such as the color of the rocks, the shape of them, the waterfalls that seemed to be invisible and then suddenly illuminated.
After spotting what our guide called the lower falls, he suggested we hiked over to it. I was happy that it was a flat hike as my calves were still feeling the burn from the 400 feet downhill and uphill hike earlier. On the way, there was a lot of commenting about seeing a bear next to the falls. We did see the bear at a distance for a few seconds but nothing to get a good picture.
We stopped for lunch at the Ahwahnee hotel which is inside the park. It is a gorgeous hotel built in 1927. After we had lunch the guide told me that it was this hotel that was the inspiration behind the Stanly Kubrick’s set used in “The Shinning”.
As I looked around, I could see it, but me thinking that I know my Hollywood history thought that everyone knows that the inspiration came from The Stanley Hotel in Colorado. It was after the tour that I realized, the original inspiration behind the novel was The Stanley Hotel, but the inspiration for the sets used in the movie was inspired by The Ahwahnee. and if you google it, you will clearly see it. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures, nor did I ride the elvators!
Beautiful photos!!! I really need to visit this park.