Good evening. Welcome to the Just Sleep podcast. I'm Tasia, your host.

Every week, I will read you an old story to help you relax, put the stressful day behind you,

and drift off to sleep.

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Tonight, I read the Yosemite by John Meora.

So lie down, close your eyes, and let me read you a story.

Chapter 1. The Approach to the Valley

When I set out on the long excursion that finally led to California,

I wandered a foot and alone from Indiana to the Gulf of Mexico,

with a plant press on my back,

holding a generally southward course, like the birds when they're going from summer to winter.

From the west coast to Florida, across the Gulf to Cuba,

enjoyed the rich tropical flora there for a few months,

intending to go thence to the north end of South America,

make my way through the woods to the headwaters of the Amazon, and float down that grand river to the ocean. But I was unable to find a ship bound for South America, fortunately, perhaps,

for I had incredibly little money for so long a trip,

and I'm not yet fully recovered from a fever caught in the Florida swamps.

Therefore, I decided to visit California for a year or two, to see its wonderful flora,

and the famous Yosemite Valley.

...