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Travel & Experiences

Yosemite: In spring, whispers, vows and dinner on a rock

At Glacier Point, where you can watch the sun set over Half Dome and Yosemite Valley, I found Brennan Cooper and Sarah Boston, all grins, both 27 years old, both from the Lake District of England, three weeks into a three-month U.S. trip. Said he: "We got together 8 1/2 years ago." Said she: "But we've known each other since, well, it would be kindergarten over here." They were first-timers at the park. Brennan had insisted they come up to Glacier Point, about 3,200 feet above the valley floor, for sunset. Then he leaned to whisper in Sarah's ear. "We were facing over here," she said, looking out over the valley. "And he whispered, 'Will you marry me?' Then he got down on one knee and whipped out the ring. I could hardly say no."

At Glacier Point, where you can watch the sun set over Half Dome and Yosemite Valley, I found Brennan Cooper and Sarah Boston, all grins, both 27 years old, both from the Lake District of England, three weeks into a three-month U.S. trip. Said he: “We got together 8 1/2 years ago.” Said she: “But we’ve known each other since, well, it would be kindergarten over here.” They were first-timers at the park. Brennan had insisted they come up to Glacier Point, about 3,200 feet above the valley floor, for sunset. Then he leaned to whisper in Sarah’s ear. “We were facing over here,” she said, looking out over the valley. “And he whispered, ‘Will you marry me?’ Then he got down on one knee and whipped out the ring. I could hardly say no.”   (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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It’s spring. Which means a young couple’s thoughts will surely turn to ... the national park system. I was just in Yosemite, and you couldn’t swing an empty canteen without hitting another beaming young couple. Here are pictures of three I met Monday, May 20, with their stories. Can you spot the former Marines? The Brits? The drummer?

--Christopher Reynolds

Tunnel view: Morning vows

At Tunnel View, where northbound travelers get their first big sight of Yosemite Valley, Josh and Cyrenea Piper stood in their wedding-day best at 8:45 a.m., a preacher at their side. Their marriage was three minutes old. Josh, 36, and Cyrenea, 26, had met at Camp Pendleton, where they were both Marines. Now they live in College Station, Texas, where he’s a pilot and she’s studying wildlife biology. Cyrenea had been to Yosemite many times. Josh was a first-timer. In the days before the saying vows, they’d hiked Upper Yosemite Falls at a military clip, arriving in less than two hours. “I woke up today and said, ‘Ow, I’m not going to be able to walk for my own wedding,” Cyrenea said. But she was walking fine.   (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

Washburn Point: dinner with a view

Up at Washburn Point, I found Derrick Strang and Katie Larsen setting up for dinner on a clifftop rock, a few thousand feet above Yosemite Valley. In his hand, Derrick had a full frying pan. They were from Bend, Ore. Derrick wore his hair in dreadlocks, with red sunglasses and a hat advertising Zildjian cymbals. (He’s a drummer.) Katie, who wore a brown knit hat and purple scarf, said she works as a foliage plant technician. While their dogs hunkered down back in their turquoise Toyota Tacoma with the camping stove, the couple dug into their sausages, eggs, brussels sprouts, onions, yams, cheese and potatoes. “First time in Yosemite,” Derrick said. “We just got hungry, and I figured, hey, I’ve got a stove,” Derrick said.   (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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