Yosemite Day 2

Since the map made everything look so much closer, we put together a big plan for the next day, starting with Bridal Veil Falls (Yosemite style, not Provo!) on our way south to the Sequoiah Groves.  I thought driving up to Glacier Point was un-missable, but Brian was not at ALL tempted, and offered to stay with whoever didn't want to go at Bridal Veil.  Emily and Jane came with me, and after driving for what seemed an impossible distance, we found out there was a LINE for a busride up the remaining distance.  Oh, the time wasted on unfamiliarity! I thought we'd asked enough questions at the Ranger stops, but ah well! Glacier Point is apparently its own day trip, and we, with our cliffaphobes, missed it this round.  We drove back down, stopping for a white-knuckled family shot at Tunnel View--SO GORGEOUS!!--and then all drove ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE PARK Southwardly, where the Mariposa Grove was closed (my MAIN original motivation for going!!)--and I was prepared for that, having researched a fabulous hidden Sequoiah Grove just outside the park.  Seemed simple going 7 more miles, but insert those ridiculously windy CA roads, and it seemed an eternity after already driving HOURS during the day.  The road took us into campground dirt roads, and finally to trailheads that would lead us to these trees I'd been starved for.  The boys however, hiked about 50 ft., and opted to veg out from carsickness/exhaustion at the van, thinking they'd seen most of the size.  I was too discouraged at the driving disaster to persuade them otherwise, and hiked with the girls along the mile loop.  Amazingly, the giants appeared (we were on "Trail of the Giants") and did make the whole thing (at least to me!) worthwhile, but it was hard to enjoy things fully, feeling like I had ruined the trip for others, and knowing we still had the TRIP BACK!!! A few grumbles in the unknown, but overall, everybody rallied pretty well, and handled things much better than my worries justified.  And the trees really were FABULOUS!!! I LOVE THEM!!! After promising a trip to the pool all day, no matter what, since we had missed it the first two days (the pool was a 10 minute drive through the lake community), I took the youngest 5 over, and was happy to find it was a salt-water pool with a gorgeous view, and happy lifeguard.  We enjoyed it until closing, and then had a LATE dinner of grilled teriyaki while we cozied up to The Happiest Millionaire.

Glacier Point Trail Head

Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls

Glacier Point Drive

Tunnel View Family shot

Tunnel View Vista

Bug carvings on stick

Lucy with her "baby" pinecone

Yosemite Day 1

 After a good night's rest, we loaded up sandwiches and snacks and drove (painfully!) down into Yosemite Valley.  (I would've snapped so many more pictures if I'd realized Brian was quite serious about not making the drive again!).  They have a wonderful shuttle system through the valley, so we could park, and then ride the bus to each station.  We started at Ahwahnee (previously, the Majestic Yosemite Lodge), hiked to Lower Falls, walked through Sentinel Meadow, and then to the Nature Center and Vernal Falls Footbridge, playing in the streams and feeding trailmix to a jay at Happy Isles.  There was a little bit of wifi at Ahwahnee, so I could email, (but not call!) Maddie after the first 2 days! I knew (and was happy) we wouldn't have much coverage at the house we were staying at, but the "free" spots mentioned in the ad proved to be farther than I'd imagined, and with so little phone coverage on top of that, AND having Maddie left behind, I was a bit weepy at being so separated!! I think she was managing much better, but I was grateful to have a little connection when we did!

shuttle bus!

 

Ahwahnee

Ahwahnee

Lower Falls trailhead

Lower Falls

Lower Falls

View from Sentinel Loop

Jane Sentinel Loop

Girls in front of Half Dome

Happy Isles

 

Happy Isles cool wading

Happy Jane @ Happy Isles

Trail Mix Jay Bird

Lucy in treetrunk chair outside nature center

Vernal Falls Foot Bridge

Yosemite or Bust!!

Not much more than a week after landing from Hawaii, we loaded up our van with a week's worth of food, clothes, and driving diversion fun, and after a fun Sunday visit from our old Syracuse neighbors (practically FAMILY!) the Merritt's, we got up around 4 AM Monday morning to drive to Groveland, CA--just out of Yosemite.  Maddie stayed behind to keep earning $, which was sad but noble of her! The kids were great for such a long, screen-free day.  We had a box of layered Dollar Store prizes to divide the hours and a few books on cd to listen to, but overall, they were pretty easy-going. It was SUCH a long day--most of it going through our own county that touches the Western Utah border, then into Nevada, where we stopped in Winnemucca for lunch, and then just as the border changed, we started to see alarmingly blue Mono Lake, gargantuan jutting peaks after miles of flat, and a narrow winding roads!
The house we rented was on the West side of the park, so we had quite a scenic journey crossing through, but after such a long, exhausting day of driving (it had been 12 hours by now), Brian was worried for our lives more than enjoying the views.  We've been around plenty of mountains, but I'd never seen anything quite like this!--the mounds and peaks and domes seemed to just explode out of the ground in such dramatic ways, that it was really breathtaking (though Brian's gasps were not of awe!).  Once out of the park, we soon realized the lake community of our house had nearly as many twists and turns.  We finally found the house just before dark (THANKFULLY!!) and unloaded up a hilariously steep driveway that our van could not even traverse! We ate and crashed happily thankful to all be in one piece, and to find that our rental house Mamma Jamma's Tree House (seriously the name) was fun, spacious, and well-furnished with comfy beds, a well-equipped kitchen, and pool table.  (Disoriented Jane was so relieved to be out of the car that she just sat in the one familiar object:  the cooler?)

Our first dome on the drive through the park:  Lembert Dome