After six intense days of flying, the contest organizers decided to declare Monday a rest day. So, naturally, team JOY went on a three hour drive down to Yosemite to see it from the ground. Here are some photos I took with my Android phone’s built-in panorama functionality, which admittedly isn’t the very best. Click to enlarge if you want.

1. Descending north on 395, a viewpoint overlooking Mono Lake:

2. Olmstead Point overlook. Half Dome in the distance.

3. Basically the same picture, a bit down the trail from the last one. Why did I take two? It is a mystery.

4. Another overlook, this time on Big Oak Flat Road descending into Yosemite Valley.

5. Bridalveil Falls.

6. View in the Yosemite Valley, near the chapel.

7. On the way back, we stopped in Lee Vining, checked out the airport on foot (it’s a place we keep in mind for landings in case we get low over Mono) then walked down to Mono Lake. There’s a lot more relief there than you see from the air, but I think I recognized the smell of the lake from our flights in that neighborhood…