In Awe of Nature

I recently had the opportunity to finally ‘get out of Dodge’ and traveled with my cousin (also Jon) cross country from California to Pennsylvania. We stopped at 3 national parks on our migration east. In my past as a child, I used to travel to Yosemite each year with my fathers’ side of the family. Even though my memory of it was one of beauty, I found myself immensely dumbstruck by the sheer scale of the place as an adult. It had probably been 20 years since I had been back.

The last time that I was there, my father and I had attempted to climb Upper Yosemite Falls. For those who don’t know, that hike contains three and half miles of off-set stone stairs. It is a steep, switchback trail with absolutely breathtaking views. When I was a child, my Dad only made it about 2/3 of the way there before requesting that we turn around. Needless to say, I made it a bucket list item to someday return and make it to the peak.

Thankfully, on this trip I checked that item off of my bucket list! I was extremely motivated to make it to the top, and it only took me 2 hours. The views were absolutely stunning. I had forgotten just how spectacular Yosemite is. The immensity of the vertical granite walls is indescribable. It really needs to be seen to believed. There were a couple of times that our group stopped, sat down, and meditated on how dramatic the landscape is. I was so grateful to have been able to make it to the top of the falls, as well as get out and about in the world again as the pandemic (at this point) seems to be calming down.