Nothing quite prepares you for the view as you first enter Yosemite Valley. It is absolutely no wonder John Muir fell in love with the place. Carved by glaciers, the valley walls are steep and sharply defined. Amazing waterfalls pour into the valley.
   Although there is no 'bad' time to visit Yosemite, each season offers something new and different for the visitor. Summers, of course, are the most crowed, the days are very warm and the nights cool. What diciduous trees there are sport their best colors in Autumn. But there is something wonderfully stark and beautiful about Yosemite in the winter. Maybe it's the hushed quite of the sound dampening snow, or the lack of noisy tourists, or maybe it's just the awesome beauty.

   Nukeboy lives only 230 miles from Yosemite's front gate (it's another 30-40 miles to the Valley), so he tries to visit often. Camping in the Valley is excellent, but limited. There is a lodge with rooms as well as the famous Awanee Hotel. If you do decide to camp, be certain to obey the rules about food in your camp. If you don't lock it up in the designated place, the bears will get it. That includes in your car and in your tent!