a glitter of green and golden wonder

i felt invigorating exuberance driving into yosemite valley with my head out the window in the kind, flaxen daybreak light. my heart and senses were full, and all day in the park i felt the spirit of god deep in my bones, surrounded in the majesty of his creations.
 “yosemite valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space.” {ansel adams}
 we hiked 5 miles straight up the mountains, ate ike’s sandwiches atop glacier point, then continued about 11 miles along panorama trail around half dome, through mossy pine groves, to vernal and nevada falls.
the vistas were unreal.
  we took a side trail to this ledge, and we were stunned, breathless, overwhelmed, in awe.
  
with legs like jelly after a whole lot of hiking, we watched the sunset warm up and pinkify the granite cliffs from tunnel view,
and cruised up the mountain for a glimpse west in the last lingering light of day.
i couldn’t believe yosemite. it just felt like it couldn’t be real, smothered in the autumn slant of sunshine. i felt incredibly close to god, as the spectacle of things seen taught my spirit of things unseen.