Yosemite National Park was one of the first wilderness parks in the United States. In 1864, eight years before Yellowstone became the nation’s first national park, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill granting Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove to the State of California for protection as a natural reserve.
Within its nearly 1,200 square miles Yosemite holds deep glacier-carved valleys, spectacular waterfalls, grand meadows, giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more. The photos in this gallery are from two trips to Yosemite National Park, a five-week stay in a tent in 1974 and a five-day stay in a rented cottage in 2006.
