Day 2 - Heading further North..........

We traveled through miles of corn fields. As far as the eye could see.

Up close these massive forests of corn stalks seem almost impenetrable.

Inside the first row and sheltered from the bright sun the mass of plants have a maze of paths and tiny little alleys running for miles. I tried not to think about all the scary movies that involves corn fields but it was too tricky.

Mexican Signs - Take me to your jefe !!

After being abducted by aliens and then returned we reached our destination ............

Yosemite Valley - The Kingdom of the Gods.

Tomorrow morning we climb Half Dome. The Ahwahnechee tribe who lived here centuries ago called it "Tis-sa-ack" meaning Cleft Rock. Half Dome stands at just under 9000 ft and the summit was first conquered by George G. Anderson in October 1875, via a route constructed by drilling and placing iron eyebolts into the smooth granite. The first technical ascent was in 1957 via a route pioneered by Royal Robbins, Mike Sherrick, and Jerry Gallwas today known as the Regular Northwest Face. Their 5-day epic was the first Grade VI climb in the United States.

Half Dome has been featured on postage stamps , coins and in the new revised California drivers license and is the logo for numerous companys like The North Face

As late as the 1870s, Half Dome was described as "perfectly inaccessible".

Staring up at the majestic pillar of rock from the valley meadow was pretty surreal.

Yosemite is for climbers what St Andrews is for golfers. This place is mecca. People come from all over the world to scale its sheer granite faces.

Saw this friendly chap milling around

As the sun sets on El Capitan and Half Dome we all went back to our campsite to prepare for tomorrows mission.

250 000 acres of land was recently destroyed in Yosemite in a forest fire that spread out of control. It made international news. It was started by a careless hunter who didnt put out his camp fire properly. 1 man's actions devastated in a single blow one of the most beautiful areas in North America. The fire burned nearly 371 square miles – one of the largest wildfires in California history. Over 4000 firefighters battled the blaze. It cost $81 million to fight and it will take 30 to 40 years before it grows back.

In the wind we could smell the destruction. Its the smell of fear and sadness too.

Part 3 - Birds on a wire ........