When was the last time you have been in the presence of mountains? If you’re realizing that you can’t remember the last time, I demand that you drop everything and go. If of course, work is tying you down at the moment, at least change your screen saver to something green and just imagine it for now.

It is such an important part of living, to be able to see the beauty of nature in its finest form. There is something about standing near a mountain, whether at its foot or at the head, that is a beautiful reminder of how small you are. Not in a belittling way, but quite the opposite. I often need the humble reminder that there are bigger things in life than myself.

My most recent adventure in the great outdoors was with my mom and brother in two of America’s finest National Parks. Although we planned on only going to Yosemite, we ended up being able to squeeze in another National Park: Sequoia National Park. To be honest, I wasn’t even aware that they were in that close of proximity (which shows how little I know about our National Parks). Sequoia was approximately an hour and a half from the Fresno airport, so it can be done within a day if you don’t plan on camping or have little time to work with.

Sequoia

Here are a couple of things that I loved about Sequoia National Park:

Trees. It’s obvious to say that this park is known for its giant, beautiful trees (hence the name).

Moro Rock. THE BEST. It’s a .4-mile trail up a giant dome rock with incredible views of the park at the peak. Although it is a heavy trafficked park, there is something about the vastness of the Sequoia trees that make it impossible for you to feel crowded. Altogether, this park is amazing and deserves to be recognized as one of the most marvelous pieces of land within the United States.

Yosemite

Yosemite on the other hand is something that very few words can explain, but I’ll give it a try. It’s magic, pure magic. It’s the crème de la crème, the diamond in the rough, truly one of a kind. The air is fresher, the trees go on forever, and the rocks are so majestic that only God Himself could have crafted.

If there is one thing you should do when spending time at Yosemite, it’s to start your day before the sun. When my brother suggested that we wake up early enough to drive 45 minutes just to see the sun rise, I wasn’t thrilled. Our hotel was in Oakhurst, which was 45 minutes away from Yosemite’s gates. But witnessing the sun rising between the mountains at Tunnel View was probably the most beautiful thing I have ever and will ever witness for the rest of my life. (It’s also the only time that the area will not be filled to capacity of tourists)

Here are the places we decided to prioritize for our one day visit:

Glacier Point 

El Capitan 

Yosemite Falls

Bridalveil Falls

Yosemite, you are pure evidence that there is a God and I want to thank Him every day for giving us gifts as beautiful as you.