Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving in Yosemite has been awesome.

El Capitan & Half Dome at Dawn

On March 27, 1851 the first group of non-Indians entered into the Yosemite Valley. Soon after, the word of Yosemite's beauty gradually spread, and in 1855, the first party of tourists arrived. What greeted them is still described as “one of the most beautiful places on earth”. 

Mirror Lake Scene

In 1864, in the middle of the Civil War, artist along with a group of influential Californians persuaded Congress and President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) to sign a bill making Yosemite and the Mariposa Grove a State Park.

Driftwood (looks like a fish to me)

Pines & Fall Color

 After an eventful camping trip with the sure-footed John Muir in Yosemite, Roosevelt helped to add the stunning Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias to Yosemite National Park. However, it took a meeting between President Roosevelt and John Muir in 1903, and the effective lobbying of railroad magnate Edward H. Harriman, to have Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove ceded from the state of California's control and included with Yosemite National Park in 1906. 

Black-tailed Deer & Fall Color

Fallen Leaves & Boulders

Vernal Falls

“I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives.  

                            I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.”             

~ Abraham Lincoln

(all photo taken with Nikon P7000)