You had me at Yosemite.

It's safe to say that it only takes one good adventure to leave you craving more. Well, for me at least. While vacationing up in Northern California, I hopelessly BEGGED family members to take me back to the prestigious place I barely held a memory of. Somewhere that all good Californians MUST visit, and have amazing memories of. For me, that changed today. I finally have a greater understanding for a place I once recalled as, "A place with just rocks in different shapes". Oh, the joys of being a young naive girl who spent her time memorizing the albums of broadway musicals instead of valuing our worlds natural beauty.

Yosemite. The home of half dome. The home of meadows and tunnels and waterfalls. The home of dreamers who reach new heights, and adventurers of stone and space. To wake up early, and drive out to Yosemite Valley for a green and golden sunrise sounded like the perfect day. That perfect day soon became reality when it was 7:50am and I was gleaming towards the natural treasures just within my own time and virtue.

GOING TO YOSEMITE TAUGHT ME 5 THINGS.

Our world is in pure harmonization. The trees, the streams, the waterfalls, the rocks, the magnitudes of it all, all lay in perfect harmony.
Cherish all wilderness.
NEVER be afraid of exploring new wonders, chase them.
Enjoy the peaks and valleys life throws at us.
We must expand our horizons.
Value all natural beauty around you.

While traveling within YO! say to me... I felt an even deeper connection towards our worlds surroundings. It's crazy to believe that OUR PLANET used natural minerals and brought such breathtakingly beautiful treasures which created something so monumental for us all. Everything so raw, so bare. Pure beauty in it's most natural state. Places like this make you to want to be an inspiration. Just how it inspired me, and taught me lessons no teacher could ever teach. It takes an experience, or maybe even a little adventure to awaken you to a new horizon. And that's what is so important.

At first sight:

These moments, these places, they all get my blood racing. And anything that gets your blood racing is probably worth doing. That's when I realized that adventure is the best way to learn. We can take away so many valuable things from the memories we gain in moments like those. For now I have stories to tell, not things to show, and I wouldn't trade that for anything. Collect moments, not things, and find the adventure within YOU. Spontaneity? The best kind of adventure. Thank you, Yosemite, for allowing me to take away more than just pictures and views of your glimmering landscapes.

For this is a story I cannot wait to keep telling. Yosemite, you have my heart.

To the moon & back, Maddy☾.