The beautiful and spiritual Burney Falls

Burney Falls offers about 5 miles of beautiful trails. One of those trails is the quite easy trail down to Burney Falls. As well as the walk to Lake Britton. What a gorgeous lake. The park is full of volcanic rock and the soil is stained red with clay. The whole Burney area struck me as peaceful and small. I wanted something larger. I didn't come away disappointed though. Quite the opposite. The falls are spectacular and the water inviting. The colors in the water just blew me away. Feeling the depth of this spiritual place, all I wanted to do is sit and feel everything around me. The mist on my skin, the warmth of the sun, the soothing sound of the falls and the ancestral people that still do ceremonies here. McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park resides in the Cascade Range  and connects to the PCT, so you can find many other hiking adventures in different parks if you want something a little more challenging. But this place should not be missed. I will connect with this place again. There is no doubt. FYI Dress in layers. Even on hot days, down by the falls can be quite chilly. The water temp stays very cold all year round.
Would you like a brochure? Burney Falls Brochure

 View from the trail on our descent

 Looking down at Burney Falls from the loop trail

 How the falls are shaped! You can see these falls year round because they are not snow fed.

 Different angle on our way down to the falls

 And here we are! 

 Breathtaking! You wanna go for a swim?!

 It is so hard to capture moving water!

 It reminds me of a veil. It mesmerizes me!

 Almost a full shot!

 Clarity! 

 Contemplation! You actually see people just standing still and drinking it all in.

 Foot bridge on the loop

 The falls ascending! That's a huge play on words. :)

 Burney Creek-lots of fishing here

 More views

One last hoorah before we leave!

Yosemite 2013-My Garden of Eden

I had never been to Yosemite before and my then, very new boyfriend wanted to take me. Who was I to say no! I was a little apprehensive because every trip I had planned to Yosemite has landed me at the hospital having some sort of surgery. :( So Yosemite, when spoken of,made me shiver with fear and doubt inside. But new relationships seem to push you beyond your limitations and most of the time for the good! The very good indeed! Yosemite as it turns out is a deep spiritual experience for most who go. It brings out high levels of energy and tons of smiles. The people you meet, even for a split second, are kind and want to be of help to one another. My exuberance, I am sure, can be overwhelming to most. I am not afraid to say hello or reach a hand to someone who is in need. And say hello to all, I did!!!!

The first stop we made was Mirror Lake and Tenaya Canyon.

And for all my work, I received feet full of blisters. On the first day! Are you kidding me?!? These blisters go in between each toe except the baby toe! 

No worries! Good thing I have tape! Tape them piggies up! I did and was able to enjoy my next outting. Which was Vernal Fall! Vernal Fall after doing some research is the most dangerous area in all of Yosemite for deaths, people going over the falls as well as perfectly healthy people dropping dead on the trail. What the hell did I get myself into. 

 At the top!

Looking down!

 Great picnic spot! I wish I had taken pictures of the crows! It made me understand American Indian's fasination for these beautiful birds!

 The trail on our way up to Vernal Fall. I realise I didn't take many pictures going up. It was treacherous and wet, so that explains the lack of breaking out the cell phone for that once in lifetime shot! Yanopah (Little Cloud) was her original name. 300 granite steps at one point and the rest was relatively easy in comparison! Be careful those steps are steep and slippery.

 The Merced River and Vernal Fall in the background.

One last picture I forgot to post on the Vernal Fall Trail. Here we are almost at the top. 

On the way back down, we chose a different path due to the fact that the granite steps were slippery coming up, we couldn't imagine trying to make it down without breaking something. So we chose a portion of the John Muir Trail to descend. But first another ascent, where my heart went crazy! Slow and steady wins the race. 

The John Muir Trail is spectacular!

And the last day, we did the Bridalveil Fall area and a walk around El Capitan! El Capitan struck me as being quite beautiful. It has a special awe inspiring quality few remark on. through my eyes it's a visual orgasm. 

Bridalveil Fall!

El Capitan area 

 Ahhhhh! El Capitan! I love you!

 No editing here! El Capitan is glorious on on it's own! I am getting goosebumps now just seeing the pictures! 

And now for the final pic which really should have been the first because it was my first experience before we came into the valley! I had a huge boo hoo experience here. I can not describe how I felt except that visually it was the most intense experience in my history.

What? I know what you are saying! No picture of Half dome! You have got to be kidding me! I am! Hahaha

Columbia State Park-Great for the kids

As part of our journey to the Hotel Leger, we happened across a state park and town named Columbia. Cute area for the kids and an interesting place to walk around in. We were hoping that the buildings were original but it looks like most are reproductions of the real thing. Still, fun to travel back into an old gold mining town that represents what it was like to live here in the 1950's. Like I said, great for the kids.
Here is a link to the park to find out more: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=552

The Fallon House Ice Cream Parlour and Hotel...you can actually make reservations to stay here. :)

No matter where you go in this world, you will always find some Mason's.

Printing Office

Building next to the printing office

Take the kids gold panning! How cool is this?!

A walk through town...giving you the bigger picture.

When you see rocks like this, it is where two of earth's plates crash into one another. You see a lot of this in the area. And they are generally all pointing in the same direction, no matter where you see them.

The old Wells Fargo Express!

Ahhhh, Douglass Saloon...great place for a homemade Sasparilla! 

Tibbit House...I believe this was an old boarding house.

You had me at Candy Kitchen! And don't forget to stop into the Columbia Museum!

An old stage coach! By the way, there are old stage coach rides through town! Yee Haw!

Hope you didn't need to use the bathroom! No worries, they have a much more updated facility!

Here is the old jail! Looks comfortable!

And here is the old fire company!

This Brewery had a lot of the locals in it. It was a hard looking bunch. I knew if I went in here, I would have to order a Jack straight up. It was avoided! hahaha You can't order a Sasparilla here and look cool. Impossible!

The sign says it all!

An old home in the area that is actually occupied! 

Dean and I, sipping Sasparilla through our noses!