"Grand" in the way non-Irish people mean it, this Canyon is!

En route to the Grand Canyon (on a day trip), was one of those times when I thought the bus ride itself was as worthwhile as the destination. That was, until we got there. Despite having Googled the bejeezus out of it in advance, I was taken aback at its breadth and overwhelmingness. The GC is indeed one of those things that are simply too ginormous to fit into any photograph. Here, not even the finest HD TruLife UltraFine 3D PhotoShop'd panoramic print can even come close to representing reality. I'm afraid my own set of pictures looks particularly fake, but you'll just have to take my word for it that I was there, and that it's not a backdrop. (If only I had brought my passport... I could have got it stamped at the Kolb photography studio / book store.)

Now in the interest of time I dump a load of photos for your purusal.

We went here on Jan 11 2011. I'll edit this post in future. Perhaps.

Winter Day in Yosemite

Yosemite (Finally)!

Yesterday we travelled from SF to Yosemite, and back.

Our Amtrak travel experience was wonderful.

Since this is my first blog, I'm going to let the images do the talking.

Above you see a view I had from the bus as our bus penetrated the park. 
Simply being onboard the bus was fantastic - my first battery was almost depleted before I got off the bus!

Near the Visitor Center, we were dwarfed by the 3-tiered Falls. A lovely Jane Call preserved the moment for us.

At the base of the Lower Falls, the sun shone resiliently through the cool January mist.

You didn't even have to look at the snowcapped peaks or tumbling falls to see beauty.

A free shuttle service circles through 21 stops. We got off at stop 17 to to walk behind Half Dome to Mirror Lake, which was frozen over. Along the way, thankfully, we were awash with reflections from the river.

Beauty even in the muddy bed! The famous Half Dome, thousands of feet high, is reflected in a pool inches deep.

We almost didn't make it to Yosemite. We were actually put off by the season, the fact that most rental car companies don't allow you to put chains on your tyres, while January normally means you must have chains to enter the park. In fact no vehicle needed chains on our visit, and I can't imagine a more beautiful time of year to appreciate the scenery.

Note: Because of lack and skill and time, none of these photos have been photo-shopped. You can assume the same for all future pictures, unless stated otherwise.