Adventures in Yosemite Valley: Day Two and Three

We woke up early on Saturday morning and had a quick breakfast. The kids got dressed and played outside around the cabin on the swing. It was cold so everyone was bundled up. We have grown very accustom to Monterey Bay Area temperatures that stay between 50-75 degrees year round! However, we all loved the cool crisp air. Michael and I packed lunches, snacks, and water for our full day of hiking and exploring Yosemite Valley and then we loaded into the car and drove into the park.

As we drove into the valley we stopped at a few lookout points and let the kids explore and takes some pictures.  When we arrived in the valley we stopped at the swinging bridge where we got our first glimpse of Yosemite Falls. We played in the sand and skipped rocks for a little while and then got back in the car to head to the parking area. We parked in the shuttle parking lot and walked toward the village to hop on the shuttle. We decided to eat our lunch in the village because it was 11am and we were hungry. We ate our lunch and then boarded the shuttle to the Happy Isles. We got off the shuttle and walked a mile up hill to Vernal Falls.  This hike was very hard on all of us. It was straight up. Michael and I took turns carrying Noelle and motivating Alexis, Nathan, and Aidan. It seemed like the longest mile and we doubted we would make it to the bridge but charged on determined to make it. We finally made it! We were so happy to see the bridge and the falls were beautiful. After enjoying the falls for a bit and exploring the woods we headed back down ready to hike some more. We got back on the shuttle and took it to the Mirror Lake stop. This hike was level and short. It was 2.4 mile round trip but the level ground made it seem shorter. We made it to the lake and the kids saw a way to cross the lake and asked if we could cross on the rocks rather than do the loop around the lake. Michael and I both said Yes! Halfway across we both questioned our decision. It got challenging to cross and we had to toss Noelle to each other to get her across. We had lots of onlookers watching and thinking we were going to fall in. We made it across and the kids were so proud of themselves. They cheered and celebrated our family victory. Others followed us across after seeing we did it. Later on the trail as we were heading back to the shuttle a professional photographer said he took several pictures of us crossing the lake just in case we fell in he could share the photos with us. He showed us the pictures of us crossing and the kids thought that was so cool. I thought is was cool that we did not fall in : ) We hiked back to the shuttle and then walked to our car. It was getting dark already so we headed back to the cabin to prepare dinner and get some rest so we would be ready for another day of adventure. We made a pot of chili for dinner and the kids were so tired they asked to go to bed at 1930 and we said Yes! Michael and I enjoyed a quiet evening talking while I did some school work and then snuggled into our warm bed.  We were tired and sore after a wonderful day exploring the beautiful Yosemite Valley.

I am going to let the pictures tell the rest of the story.