Yosemite National Park

I don't know where to start with Yosemite National Park. It is beautiful, it is stunning and it is HUGE. We spent two days and two nights there, and there's STILL things that we didn't get to see.

We kind of played roulette with camping in Yosemite but we totally won the lottery. We got a great spot in Bridalveil Creek. Surrounded by boulders and an entertaining family on the right, we had plenty of space for our two-person tent and then some.

We spent the first day, after setting up the tent, exploring the main road, as far as Crane Flat, Yosemite Creek, Olmsted Point, Tuolumne Meadows and to the edge of the park at Tioga Pass. We attempted to try a hike at Gaylor Point, but this blogger got a little ambitious on a hike at altitude and nearly passed out. Turns out, it was probably a good thing. While exploring the meadow across the road, we were fascinated by watching a rainstorm cross the lake in front of us. It didn't become drenching until we reached the car, thankfully.

Here's some pictures from Day 1:

            

  

Day 2 included a drive from our campground to Glacier Point and the Yosemite Valley.  The views from up above were stunning and the Valley was fun to explore. We had originally planned to hike around the Valley, but we made the 'mistake' of heading the way we did and I saw a sign for the "Mist Trail" which is the beginning of the climb to Half Dome. Trust me, I wasn't crazy enough to want to try it, but one of the first stops, almost a mile away, was the base of Vernal Falls.  That sounded like a great hike because I love waterfalls but what we didn't realize is that said hike was practically vertical. It was quite the workout to get there and a partial workout on the way down. One thing that we enjoyed was the cheerleading that everyone does on these hikes. Encouraging those coming and assuring them its worth the hike.  And when we got back to the parking lot, I stalked some very tame deer and got the most priceless photo. L thinks that its begging to be included in an internet meme... we just haven't come up with the right sayings for it.



Here's a few photos from Day 2:

           

      

Here's the rest of the 116 photos (down from an amazingly large amount) for you to look at.

I can't wait to go back again. Maybe I'll be in better shape so that I can take that hike at 10,000 feet without passing out.