Waterfalls and Big Rocks, but No Grizzlies!

Our next stop is Yosemite National Park.  The one and only time I have been there was 20 years ago.  We went camping to celebrate our first anniversary and we headed to Yosemite, however, it was closed due to fires and so I never did get to see the valley.  So I was especially excited to finally get to see the famous sights.

It really is a gorgeous place and there really was tons and tons of people there.  By the end of the day, we were ready to get away from the crowds.  But we did have a great time exploring the area. And what a beautiful day it turned out to be.

Our first stop was Bridal Veil Falls.  A short hike got us to the base of the falls and then it was uphill climbing on rocks to get even closer.  We really like to hike so we always tend to go off the beaten path to see more.  But so did everyone else here, so it was slow going.  The rocks are so high that when the water has so far to fall there is a constant spray of water in the air.  I was quite nervous about my camera, so I only ventured up to a certain point.  I would have loved to go farther which T, J, and K did.  In fact, they went so far up that by the time they came back, they were drenched.  And that was just from the mist off the water.  It was crazy.

The view from the end of the trail

Part way up the falls

Looking to see how much farther the kids went up the falls

Finally they are coming back

Drenched and happy

Looking at the end of the trail from on the rocks

view of the falls from farther back on the trail

We spent all day there and of course, K got her JR. Ranger Badge here too.  She was quite bummed when she saw no grizzlies.  And let me tell you, we looked hard to spot one.

But we did see the famous Half Dome. . . . .

El Capitan. . . .

Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls . . . .

Do you recognize those places from the famous Ansel Adams black and white pictures?  He had a gallery there and I would have loved to buy something there.

We took Tioga Pass to go up and around and out the other side of the park and what a view we had of the valley floor.  The water fall in the background is Bridal Veil.

We stopped at these rocks and got out to run around.  This is the back side of Half Dome.  T and the little girls decided to go down this big rock on a hike.  They were at the bottom when all of a sudden this bolt of lightning hit a rock near by and thunder sounded almost at the same time.  It was so loud, but above the sound, you could hear K scream from the bottom of the rock.  Of course, she decided that it was time to go. 

The meadow up the pass is gorgeous and so is the lake.  There was a storm coming in and so the sky had all these wonderful clouds of light and dark. 

We all agreed that this would be a fun place to come back to and maybe even camp.  There is lots of places to hike and of course, there is water everywhere, so that is a draw too.  What a great place! It really is one of the most gorgeous places I have been to.