Weekend Window: Yosemite National Park

Nov. 19, 2006 — -- California's Yosemite National Park is one of the oldest national parks in America.

While the park's 1,200 mile expanse boasts deep valleys, pastoral meadows and ancient sequoia trees, Yosemite is perhaps best known for its waterfalls.

"There is a combination of many things that made Yosemite what it is today," said Yosemite park ranger Ariel Kelly. "Yosemite Falls are the most popular falls we have here in the park. It flows irregularly, which means it's a seasonal waterfall."

Yosemite falls measures about 2,500 feet from top to bottom. One fall, Bridal Veil, stands about 600 feet tall on its own.

The park lends itself to pictures.

"This park is so widely photographed because you can go 30 miles and get a whole different shot and at different points of the day," Kelly said.

El Capitan is one of the most photographed parts of Yosemite.

"El Capitan is one of the iconic monoliths of Yosemite National Park," Kelly said. "It stands totally 3,500 feet above the valley floor and its sheer granite face is just about 3,000 feet in length."

It's not just sightseers who love to take pictures of Yosemite. World-renowned photographer Ansel Adams made the park the subject of a famous series of pictures.

"Ansel thought Yosemite the first time he saw it was glorious," said Walter Flint, staff photographer of Yosemite. "There was light everywhere -- light on the cliffs, light on the waterfalls, light on the trees, plants and the flowers."

For Adams, Yosemite was more than a subject, it was a destiny.

"Ansel Adams wrote 'I knew my destiny when I first experienced Yosemite,'" Flint said.

And for many, going to Yosemite has a similarly profound effect.

"Getting up and being able to see the granite cliffs, and being able to go outside and hiking at any time at any point, is an awesome feeling," Kelly said.