We haven't been to Yosemite since before the kids were born (kinda crazy, considering we're in California at least every other year), so our only big plan for this trip was a day at Yosemite (which we'd hoped to combine with snow play, but the weather changed last minute and we ended up needing to drive to higher elevation for that). Being November, the upper parts of the park were closed due to snow (with roads closed off long before the snow line, so we couldn't drive near enough to play), so we spent the day in the valley doing 3 little hikes to some of the waterfalls. Also being November though, the fall colors were in full effect and it was GORGEOUS! Jay had a lot of fun putting his new camera to use, Cora collected leaves everywhere we walked, and seeing the sunlight filtering through the treetops was a real treat. We had hoped to make it out to Mirror Lake too, but the road was closed about 2 miles from the trailhead and by the end of the day when we made it to the end of the valley, we knew the kids didn't have a 4+ mile hike left in them.
We started them off with a view of the Merced River (followed by a "hike" under our favorite bridge for a closer look at a waterfall) and they were immediately impressed with the "big rock mountains and BIG rocks":
Can you spy Grambot and PawPaw up on the bridge?
And can you spot Jay up among the boulders?
It gives us an incredible amount of joy that our kids love nature, hiking, and national parks as much as we do. I think we need a big cross country road trip REALLY soon to hit some of our other favorites (as well as some we haven't seen yet!)
Next stop? Bridalveil Falls!
We stopped at the grocer and souvenir shop area for lunch, went through the museum and other exhibits, then hiked out to Lower Yosemite Falls. We saw quite a few deer along the path (both directions), which the kids loved (different type of deer than we have here in Mississippi, and seeing the "friendly" groups napping along the side of the trail was very exciting for them):
Since we couldn't got out to Mirror Lake, we went over to the Ahwahnee (now "The Majestic Yosemite Hotel" - sorry, but I hate that they changed it) for a look around (especially at the giant walk-in fireplaces), then went out for one more quick hike along the base of the mountains. Before that though, James had a chance to use his new knife (purchased in the Yosemite gift shop as a reward for earning his Whittling Chip - he chose a multi-tool with his name on it) to sharpen his sketching pencil. The concentration and pride was strong:
It's hard to see, but just below these words (it looks like sky, but it's rock, going straight up to the top of the photo) there's a climber heading up the rock face. The kids thought it was totally nuts that they were all the way up there attached to the wall with a few ropes...
It was such a fun day! I'm really glad we took the time to head to the park for an adventure, making memories that I hope the kids will hold onto for many, many years! Thank you PawPaw and Grambot for driving us over and being so patient with all the hiking and exploring (I know the kids were worrying you on all those giant rocks)!!
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