As you follow the long winding road, between rows and rows of trees, darkness surrounds you.  Your eyes adjust, only to be blinded by the jaw dropping, open expanse that is Yosemite Valley.

There is no big welcome sign. This beautiful vista all by itself is your welcome party. Half Dome, El Capitan and Bridalveil Falls seem to greet every person as they enter one of the most breathtaking places in the entire world; Yosemite National Park.

Yosemite National Park has a way of affecting people in a way they could not have imagined.

“It becomes a part of you,” said 59-year-old Frank Reynolds, who has been coming here since he was a boy. “I was 11 when I first got to go … I remember walking up to Vernal Falls and being someone who was raised in the Bay Area I had never seen anything like it.”

Experiences like this are a common occurrence at Yosemite National Park.

People travel from all over the globe to experience the grandeur and majesty of one of the true wonders of the world. But it is the people who are in reach of the park that seem to have trouble finding motivation to visit.

Yosemite National Park is overloaded with jaw dropping beauty. Vernal Falls, Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil Falls, The Ahwahnee Hotel, to the giant sequoias, to be able to stand where Theodore Roosevelt stood with John Muir at Glacier Point for the famous photo and a photo of their own are only some of the mere gifts that Yosemite Valley bestows onto its visitors.

For all that Yosemite has to offer, nothing quite compares to the truly one-of-a-kind waterfalls. One cannot help but be hypnotized and transfixed to the waterfalls at Yosemite. Their perfection makes them seem simulated; perfection you could have only seen in a postcard or poster.

There is a great suspense about reaching the base of the waterfalls. Like a long journey one walks up to Yosemite Falls, they are led on a path that is bordered with a rushing river on one side and huge granite rocks on the other.  The roaring water crashing on the rocks adds to the suspense of seeing the waterfall. Then when it is finally revealed, it boggles the mind.

The roar of the water, the sheer cliff, the astounding power of it all. The mind has a hard time comprehending that it could even be real. The mind has a hard time comprehending the images that it is receiving. It leaves people dumbfounded and riveted.

One of the most famous spots in all of Yosemite is The Ahwahnee Hotel. Since the 1920’s, the Ahwahnee has been a destination spot for every person who visits the park. Its rustic beauty and unparalleled charm has attracted some of the most powerful and famous people of the last century. The Ahwahnee is cradled in the pristine Yosemite Valley, surrounded by the tall evergreen trees and in the shadow of one of the most gorgeous rock formations.

The most amazing part of The Ahwahnee is the dining room. The high, sugar-pine roof and floor-to-ceiling windows seem to invoke thoughts of an old medieval hall. All original wooden furniture and old iron chandeliers add to the ambience. This National Landmark is almost 100 years old and still draws people not only in California, but all over the world.

For all its beauty, it is the magnificence of Half Dome, which seems to resonate with everyone who visits the park. While everyone has seen it in the Ansel Adams photos, nothing quite compares to seeing it in front of you. No matter where a person stands in the valley, it is always there.

There is nothing quite like seeing it turn golden, by the illuminated sunset. Turning Half Dome into the golden beacon of Yosemite and will remind all who see it of the wonders of nature and the glory of the wilderness.

For most people, it is as simple as getting a car and driving just a few hours. It is a return to self. One of the true wonders of the world within reach. But nobody said it better than the great environmentalist, John Muir, “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.”