the next morning we woke up, ate breakfast, then went to find another campsite. the spot we had wasn't bad but there was a group nearby that was being extremely loud and playing music past midnight. we were lucky that a family reunion group was just leaving giving us a huge, secluded site.
we planned to spend the day in Yosemite Valley. Yosemite Valley is where a lot of the best waterfalls, hikes, etc. in Yosemite are but it is also the most crowded. we were there in the summer peak and it is a huge family vacation destination. the Valley is set up for tourists with buses that take you to different destinations, souvenir shops, and a paved walkway to the largest waterfall, Yosemite Falls. despite being so commercialized the valley is incredibly beautiful.
we saw many beautiful views and waterfalls along the drive there.
the waterfall below is Yosemite Falls. we did the 1 mile hike to the lower falls which is super easy with a concrete path.
we got to the bridge where you can see the falls and it was ridiculously crowded. we went through some woods to the side of the bridge and found a spot closer to the falls that had way less people. we ate our lunch there and took in the scenery.
we climbed on the rocks to get closer.
we climbed really close to the falls where we could feel the mist. we sat and enjoyed the stunning views of the Valley and it was so nice I could've stayed there all day.
Jason took this panoramic pic with his phone.
we hiked back and explored some more.
we decided to
hike the Mist trail to Vernal falls next. it is only about 3 miles but
it is all uphill there so it was definitely tiring.
there are these stone steps you walk up near the end that go up right next to Vernal fall. we were so close we got soaked from the mist from the fall. the view was unbelievable and it was one of the coolest hikes I've ever done, especially for it being such a short hike.
double rainbow! :)
the trail keeps going and you can go to the top of the falls. to get there you have to climb up these fun stairs (pic below). good thing there was a railing otherwise there's no way I would've climbed them.
we followed the river up a little bit and find and nice spot on some rocks to eat a snack. it was so beautiful and peaceful. there are these pretty blue birds with black heads we saw around the park and I was feeding one some granola bar :).
we climbed back down and went by the fall again. I had to put my camera away and just use my phone for pics because the mist was strong and we were soaked!
we hiked back to our car and then made our way back to our camp. we stopped at this lookout to watch the sunset on Half Dome.
back at our camp we made our dinner on our camping stove. honestly on all our previous trips we just ate sandwiches or we would get take out to take back to our camp because we didn't know how to cook while camping. before we left on this trip for my birthday Brin put together a camping package with meals that you just add hot water to. they were actually really good and much better than just eating sandwiches the whole time. our second day in Yosemite was incredible and we couldn't wait to see more the next day.
the next day we drove to Yosemite National Park! this stunning view is the first thing you see when you come out of the tunnel into Yosemite Valley.
it is definitely a memorable first impression.
the waterfall you see is Yosemite falls.
Jason forgot to take off his headphones for the pic- ha! he listens to audio books in the car while I listen to music.
a couple of guys asked if I could take their pic and I said sure. then they said - now it's gonna get a little weird - then they started taking off their shorts and were wearing American flag speedos ha! they wanted a pic of their backs looking off into the scenery. later Jason and I wished I had gotten a pic with them for my "where's Momo?" game I play with my family. it would've been pretty funny :)
we didn't have a campsite reserved for that night so we had to quickly find one before doing anything else. we knew we wouldn't be able to find a campsite in the Valley because it is the most crowded area so we drove higher up where it is way less crowded. we were lucky and find a spot in the first campsite we went to that was only about 30 minutes from the valley. we were relieved to find one without having to look for very long. since we had somewhere to sleep for the night we then went out exploring.
we stopped to explore this little waterfall along the side of the road under a bridge.
we picked up a couple of backpackers here since they were going the same direction and took them to the lake. I want to backpack through Yosemite someday. specifically I want to hike the John Muir trail which passes through Yosemite.
this is Tuolumne meadows.
we saw a bunch of deer in the meadow grazing far away but this one was right on the trail.
we started driving back to our campsite as the sun was setting. we passed the lake again and the mountain looked golden.
we set up our tripod and got lots of pics of the both of us.
we sat apart so you can see Half Dome in the background.
the mosquitoes were biting us like crazy here and you can see one on Jason's head below.
we went back to our campsite, made dinner, then relaxed by the campfire. we had a great first day in the park and couldn't wait to explore some more!
