Yosemite

Every year we get the last Friday in October off from school to celebrate Nevada's Birthday. We usually take a trip - Disneyland, San Francisco, etc.  This year we decided to check out Yosemite.
It was absolutely glorious!

It's only a short trip for us when the Tioga Pass is open and it was, so we took advantage of the good weather.  We caught our first glimpse of Half Dome as we descended into the valley.  Wow!  Once we got to the valley floor we were greeted by El Capitan.  Breathtaking!  Autumn was showing off all it's colorful splendor.  It rained golden leaves the entire weekend. 

We stayed in Curry Village in white tents.  We opted for the heat"less" version.  They boys are both working toward their camping merit badge and we figured a heated tent would hardly count toward one of their "camping" nights.  The tents were actually really cool.  We had one double bed and three singles.  The little girls shared a single.  Phil and I took the double and the boys each had a single.  Sadie did not make this trip.  She had a state performance for flag/band.  She enjoyed her weekend with Mae and Maddie.  She wasn't far from out thoughts.  We are learning as our family grows we aren't always all together for little trips like this.

My camera broke a couple weeks ago, so all these are pictures taken on my phone.  I didn't feel any sense of urgency to buy another camera before our trip.  I really didn't think we'd take many pictures.  I figured my phone would be just fine in case we needed to catch a few shots.  Was I ever wrong.  I took over 60 pictures.  I had no idea how beautiful it would be and just how much I would want to capture Yosemite's grandeur.  I did learn, while the pictures taken on my phone aren't all that great, it's nice not having to feel compelled to take a picture with the camera and then the phone. 

My favorite part of our whole adventure in Yosemite was sunset in the meadow across from El Capitan.  There weren't words to describe the thrill of watching El Capitan start to glow as it got dark.  Did you know the climbers spend the night on the mountain suspended from ropes in tents?  Incredible!

We actually got to spend some time visiting with a climber who was out in the meadow relaxing on his foam mat and sleeping bag.  He had just gotten off the mountain after spending 10 days free climbing - alone!  We had many questions, and he answered them all.  What an amazing sport with a varied and interesting history.  I remembered getting a National Geographic back in May 2011 which featured Yosemite's climbers.  When we got home we found it and read with a new appreciation and respect.

Here's our little tent.  Beck got sick the last day.  He was a bit under the weather, but happy to pose for a quick picture.

This is Lower Yosemite Falls.  There were all these rocks up to the falls.  The kids started climbing them and before we knew it Phil and I were climbing as well.  We spent over and hour climbing to the base of the falls.  It was like being a kid again.  It's fun to do things like climbing rocks with your children.  They kinda take a second look at you.  One of the many perks of our growing children - no strollers!

This was a very rewarding trip.  We completely enjoyed ourselves and plan to make a trip back - with bikes.  You can bike all over beautiful Yosemite National Park.