Far From The Madding Crowd

Title of the 1874 novel by Thomas Hardy. Also, finding tranquility and respite from 92°F heat in Yosemite Valley during peak tourist season.

Standing in Merced River, El Capital dominating background

I usually visit Yosemite in autumn on our way to the Eastern Sierras fishing, or in winter for snow and cross-country skiing. This time we had a few free days and made a quickly-planned trip to Yosemite. We stayed in a $100/night rental trailer just outside the national park's southern Mariposa entrance.

Shooting Stars in marshy meadow

Yesterday we started early and reached Glacier Point by 9am. The parking  lot reached full capacity shortly after we started our day long hike. The Sierra granite-domed scenery, high-country wildflowers, birds singing ... these things reminded us why we repeatedly come.

Violet Camas in marshy meadow

Today, we allowed a leisurely departure, and arrived at Mariposa entrance at 10:30am. The newly updated and expanded parking lot at Mariposa Grove was completely full! We proceed to drive to Yosemite Valley. We were reminded why we avoided coming in summer. The crowds ...

Viewpoint at Lower Yosemite Falls

Nat'l Park Service is a parking service in the busy season

More photographs (National Geographic quality) of our visit to Yosemite National Park.

The title of Thomas Hardy's novel was named after a line from Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard - 1751, by Thomas Gray:

___Far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife 
___Their sober wishes never learn’d to stray


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