Driving in pitch blackness from our hotel to Tunnel View in Yosemite, 5 am was unexpectedly beautiful. The surrounding barely visible ancient massive rock formations seemed to cradle us as we moved through the valley thousands of feet underneath them.
When my husband and I pulled into the parking lot at Tunnel View, there were not many people there. I chose a spot on the low wall, sitting with my legs dangling above nothingness, the ground far below. The quiet was filled by the thought that all that lay before me has been here for 200 MILLION years, an amount of time I cannot even comprehend.
Several camper vehicles arrived, obviously together. They set up a table with coffee, bagels and donuts. What could have turned into a noisy party instead remained a reverent vigil.
The sky in front of me, to the east, began to lighten, the monoliths taking shape. I could not see it well, of course, but my binoculars helped, allowing me to imagine views not far off from the pictures that accompany this story. As the sun slowly rose higher, the scene before me became more clear, the gradually levitating sun gently announcing that a new day had dawned in the soothing way a mother wakes her toddler.
I had traveled 2,700 miles from home for the purpose of seeing the wonders of California, none more anticipated than Yosemite. Now, however, my focus was the sun. None of the sights in this state . . . or any place on earth . . . would be much of anything if we could not see them, said the legally blind girl, but just stay with me please. I hoped that the sun knows that people wait for it, as we were now, for the sheer joy of witnessing the spectacular come to life. I hoped that it knows that in our darkest hours we pray for its return, the promise of a new day after a painful, torturous night.
I have been extremely fortunate to have seen (when fully sighted) the sun rise from the railing of a cruise ship with no land is in sight. I have sat on a balcony overlooking Monument Valley and stood on the rim of the Grand Canyon as a fresh start was introduced to me. They were all profound experiences; it is difficult not to consider your existence when you are in such breathtaking locations, even more so when they have existed since time began.
In this moment, however, with El Capitan, Half Dome and Bridalveil Falls presented to me like a gift by the sun, for once I did not question my place in the world. I knew with every fiber of my being that I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
For other Yosemite National Park stories, click on the titles below.
What Do Bears Eat?
Yosemite View Lodge
Yosemite Tunnel Vision
Galen Clark’s Sequoias
El Capitan
Yosemite Valley Chapel
In The Spring Yosemite Falls
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