Stages of Life

Each tiny sequoia seed has the potential to become a mighty tree, but only a few encounter the right conditions to reach maturity. The slender young sequoias around you beat the great odds in finding the perfect mixture of soil, moisture, temperature, and sunlight necessary to germinate and grow.

Over the next few centuries, these slim saplings may grow 250-300 feet tall. They will increase in volume, developing wide buttresses at their bases. Their upper limbs will expand, becoming as thick as the trunks of other trees, and their lower limbs drop off. After they reach their full height, their crowns will become round, often with a broken (or snag) top.

The one constancy is change. That dichotomy may sound strange, but if you think about it, it’s spot on. We plan trips, register for schooling, schedule meetings, and arrange our lives, but things don’t always work out like we plan or anticipate. Often our preparations are interrupted before they fully materialize. But that’s okay. God has plans that far exceed our fondest imagination. Do you believe that? I know it. I see it everyday. Nothing frustrates God’s plan. Nothing. So when your plans coincide with God’s, you too are immune from lasting struggles, failure, or never ending hardship. 

Maybe I’m just lucky. Yeah. You could say that, but luck is a misnomer. God does not depend on luck. Everything is allowed, prevented, or caused. Everything! What is more amazing than luck is seeing the tender mercies from God restore, redeem, and heal one’s life consistently. He can and does magnify one’s life when we allow it. And that constancy never changes. Never has and never will. Choosing God is the only safe bet.

“Still I bet my stars...” ​

Yosemite National Park
Sierra Nevada Mtns
Yosemite Valley
Tunnel View (sweeping panorama)
Bridal Veil Fall (easy walk to base)
El Capitan
Half dome
Merced River
Let the park's spirit wash over you
Mirror Lake
The Four Mile Trail
Glacier Point !!!
Washburn Point
Glacier Point road access these
The Mist Trail (5-hr moderate to experienced hike)
Vernal and Nevada Falls
Towering Sequoias
Lower Falls (1 hr hike)
All-day hike to Upper Falls
Yosemite Village
Ansel Adams gallery
Free shuttle and bike paths
Yosemite Falls
El Capitan Meadow
Ring road
Valley View
Tioga Road (north of Yosemite)
Alpine Air
Homestead Point (cool Alpine air)
Tuolumne Meadow
Lembert Dome

hiking poles
el capitan without ropes (climber?)
mirror lake
bike paths
museum and vistors center
A place fall easier to feel than explain - John Muir


1 Drive the scenic route to Glacier Point
Panorama Trail
2 Yosemite Valley
America's tallest waterfall /. upper, middle, lower
3 Walk among the giant sequoias in Wawona Basin
Towering 30 stories high and 1,800 years old / Grizzly Giant
4 Tuolumne Meadows / Tioga Road
2-mile hike to Lembert Dome for panoramic view of the meadow
5 Wildlife
deer, bear, eagles
​
Purchase camp chairs
Hiking poles