On the Way to Yosemite and Beyond!

A short drive northeast of us (3 hours) is this place we know as Yosemite National Park.  Maybe you have heard of it.  It became obvious as we came north on highway 40...the traffic was thicker and slower going...that others might have heard of it too, but we continued on with the crowd to see this famous park.

Of course, we had to stop for an occasional cache along the way as we were in no hurry.  In one cache, we discovered a trackable Mickey.  We would find out later that we were the first to grab this trackable.  Its goal was to travel to as many places within California as possible.  We were to only keep it for two weeks...plenty of time to take it around for an adventure.

As much as we love nature, we had already decided OUR main goal of the day was just getting across "to the other side of the mountain...the other side of the mountain...to see what we could see!" (More on that for the next post.)

Our first stop after entering the park was the visitor center at Wawona.  We had been told (via the website and other sources) that there was a charge for Junior Ranger booklets at this park.  This was a first for us, but we were prepared to pay the price as this was a big part of the NP experience.  However, when we arrived, we were told that there was no cost.  YAY! Money saved is always a good thing.  We told the ranger that we had 5 participants but she told us she did not have that many books so we were given two of three different programs.  OK...that was odd but we took what were were given and decided we would figure it out as we went about the day across the park.

As we were leaving we decided to look at what appeared to be a barn and a covered wooden bridge.  It turned out to be the Pioneer History Center.  There were several historic buildings (once placed around the park) that were relocated to this center.  We walked across the covered bridge into a village of buildings, including a blacksmith shop, several cabins, a bakery, and powder house/jail.  It was a fun walk that got us out of the van before heading further on.

We were disappointed to learn that the road to the Mariposa Grove was closed.  This would have been an opportunity for the older boys and Michael to see the giant sequoias.  We will just need to make a trip to the other famous park some weekend (also a day trip from our house).

The next big thrill was driving through the big tunnel that we take us to the first amazing and iconic view in the park.  Through the tunnel and out into a wide open area...well other than the *million* (slight exaggeration) cars that were also parked to see the view and take a picture or two.  This is when we really started to see the tourist-y nature of the park.  If it seems the crew appear a little disgruntled I think it was because they were hungry!  However, it was worth the drive for the amazing view and we were right along with everyone taking pictures and stopping for lunch!

We thought we would be stopping again at another visitor center to take the children on a ranger-led program; however, the crowded parking lots made it impossible to stop.  Very disappointing but we decided to try our own trail instead.

The tourist-y nature continued with tour buses everywhere...there were also many options for over night stays, including the typical campsites, but also hotels and resorts...very different from what we we were used to seeing.  However,, I would think being one of the oldest parks in the system it had time to build up before limitations were made for natural settings.

The trail we chose was the lower Yosemite Falls.  We were also able to take a quick peak at Bridalveil Falls along the way.  Bridalveil was barely a mist sweeping up into the air.  We were later told that it was a full waterfall just two weeks before due to the snow melt.  The trail leading to the Yosemite Falls was a nice path that was good for us.  We could have gone on the upper trail also but the lack of water and the steep climb made us stop.  Maybe we will make it during the spring months to view in its glory.

One thing that happened along this path was kind of funny and scary.  We stopped for a family photo and I set up the camera on a picnic table.  A squirrel came up from behind and also bit me on my rump!  We laughed about it and went along our way.  However, we would later learn that the plague (yes, that's right!) was being transmitted by these little critters throughout the park...in fact one area we had visited was completely shut down because of this issue!  Wow!  I guess I am glad it changed its mind and stayed away!

We continued through the Tuolumne Meadows on highway 120 and Tioga Road.  This road was quite windy with breathtaking views.  We were glad for the experience but were glad to be on the other side of the mountains.

Before heading out of the park, we stopped at the last visitor center in the meadows.  The children all entered ready to earn their badges.  We had divided the booklets accordingly at the beginning of the day.  What we did not know is that the various books earned different badges!  When we told the ranger what had happened at the first center, she told us that there should have been plenty of books for everyone.  So...everyone ended up earning different badges.  The children could have earned three different badges!  But it was all good in the end.

 As we left the park, we also saw one of the wildfires that was making its way into the park.  This one was caused by lightning...we were glad to leave before it became a problem.  The smoke could be smelled well away from the park.

We arrived at our hotel in Mammoth Lakes just in time for dinner.  We were told to take all of the food into the hotel room as bears were know to enter vehicles in search of food.  SO glad we already planned to do this.

A great first day of vacation...much more to see before we are home again.