During the last two weeks of June, my husband and I took our first vacation in nearly a decade and headed to Yosemite National Park. It’s a wonderous place of waterfalls, huge trees, and giant rocks. I hiked and read books and was mistaken for a forest ranger. How did that happen, you might ask.

I was wondering why tourists approached me numerous times over two days, asking for information on trails, directions to the parking lot, and Band-Aids for blisters. Despite being my first time at Yosemite, I was able to answer their questions, show them the trail to follow on my map, and distribute first aid.

It wasn’t until my husband and I browsed our photos that the reason became clear…..

Other highlights:

Giant trees. I’m standing beneath one that was hollowed through the center by fire:

• 

• 

This tree is named Old Grizzly, estimated at 2900 years old:

The closest thing we saw to a bear. So scary!:

Sunset on Half-Dome :

Rocks and rocks and more rocks:

Vacations are wonderful, but it’s nice to come home.