Did someone not hear that? YES, YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK!!)))

We arrived there after half a day at Kings Canyon. We were starving, so instead of following the ranger's advice to head up to Glacier Point, we went down into the valley where there are restaurants.

So, instead of wonderful views, the park greeted us with a terrible symbiosis of mile-long traffic jams and hunger. They tormented us until the final battle in the cafeteria, where we barely defeated them. I mean, we barely ate and defeated them))

While we were devouring potatoes and salads, the sun was setting rapidly, and when we stepped outside, we could only feel our way around to see what Yosemite was. No, of course we saw the park, but only with the corner of a hungry eye, so we decided to spend the night right there.

What a surprise it was to find that even here (it's the same story in other parks, but there are tons of campgrounds here!!) all the spots were taken and there was nowhere to sleep. After we wandered through the night streets of Yosemite and drove into the oncoming lane, we were caught by the valiant police.

Instead of fining us and kicking us out, they found us accommodation in a closed tent camp 20 km from the valley and asked us not to do that again. An awesome night in a tent for one and a half people per sleeping bag was unforgettable. Then came fried sausages with vegetables, and, full and happy, we finally got the chance to see everything we had been deprived of)

Ideally, you need two full days for Yosemite. You can climb stairs carved into the rock up to towering cliffs, swim in mountain lakes, stand for hours, stunned by the view, and a whole lot more. BUT. If you have the chance, you really, really need to come here in the spring. They say dozens of types of flowers bloom here, with snowy peaks, waterfalls, etc., all around. What about autumn?)

In autumn, everything is also super; at Glacier Point, the statistical risk of a heart attack for an average person "from such beauty" increases by 600 times. By 603.5, to be exact. You drive there through a forest where clouds lie, but having risen higher, before you, in the palm of your hand, is something you will never be able to hold in those hands in your life.

By the way, on the way to this point, we picked up a seventh person in the car, a girl named Ashley Lyman. She was born in the Rocky Mountains, lived near Glacier National Park, then in California, then in Alaska for 5 years, flying in a pilot's cockpit to the store in another city, since they didn't even have a store in their village, and they could only reach it by plane.

Then she finished university, lived in Florida, worked, then decided she was tired of it and rushed to Hawaii without money or housing to surf for a year; she scraped by somehow, but lived happily. Then she returned, traveled all over America, and now, at 25, she was climbing rocks in Yosemite on the most difficult route. She and her friend had split up on the route the previous evening to meet up today.

At the same time, she works as a designer (or marketer) and doesn't have a care in the world. After this, people say that Americans are worse than us. I don't know if they are worse or not, but I met a lot of such people there (at a rough guess, about 15 people I managed to talk to). Bank employees, salespeople, auto mechanics. They suddenly decided to take off somewhere and try themselves. Without money, without housing, without experience - without anything, with faith in freedom and a better life. And, damn it, they pull it off coolly)) They are different, but there are plenty of cool people there too)

But let's return to Glacier Point.

A huge valley with the highest waterfall in North America, Yosemite Falls (739m) (for comparison, Niagara is 53m) and a dozen smaller ones. A deep blue sky and grandiose cliffs. The observation deck is as good as it gets. Climb as much as you want. However, because it was autumn, the grass, like everywhere else during the trip, was dry and yellow, there were no flowers in sight, and all the waterfalls except three had dried up (including the highest one), leaving rusty marks on the rocks, by which one can only imagine what they are like in the spring.

After standing there for about an hour, we headed to the north of the park. The road there was blocked due to fires raging in California. From one of the hills we drove up, one could see a completely scorched forest valley with only trees gnawed by fire sticking out. An apocalyptic sight in such a heavenly place was very unexpected... But that's okay, they say it's good for the trees))

And we had an even more useful activity ahead - a visit to San Francisco.