What I did on my summer vacation

I took some time off last week, and the highlight of an otherwise delightfully inert vacation was a visit from a couple of young relatives from Texas, my second cousin and his wife.

They had never been to Yosemite before, so on Wednesday, my brother and I drove them up and we toured that natural jewel. I worked in Yosemite a couple of summers many years ago, while in college, and my brother is an old hand; he worked there for a couple of years right after he graduated from college.

I've always enjoyed taking people up Highway 41 and through the Wawona Tunnel for the first time. That famous vista -- Bridalveil Falls on the right, El Capitan on the left and Half Dome in the middle distance -- still has the power to stun me, and it just bowls over first-timers. We came out of the tunnel and stopped, as almost all visitors do, and took a million pictures, then we wandered around the valley, punctuated by lunch at the Ahwahnee Hotel -- another jaw dropper for newcomers. It was a grand day.

I was impressed -- again -- as we stood at the base of El Capitan, with the power of nature to humble mere mortals. And Yosemite has that power in abundance. Of course, as with any good editorial writer, that humility had vanished long before we got back to Fresno. But I know where to go to get it back.