Yosemite (Day 2)

We got up early and couldn't wait to drive into Yosemite National Park. The drive was a little long, but absolutely beautiful. We saw our first of many deer in a meadow along the road.

Our first big stop was at Bridalveil Falls. This waterfall is absolutely gorgeous. I couldn't believe how much water was still falling this late in the summer! The kids couldn't believe how close we could get!

The area surrounding the falls was beautiful too, and the kids had fun climbing around the river and up rocks.

Our drive into Yosemite Village was breathtaking. The views all around are just magnificent.

We stopped in at the Ahwahnee Hotel just to look around. This hotel is gorgeous, and in the perfect location. Someday maybe we'll be able to stay here, but for this trip, we had a quick walk through!

We stopped for lunch in the village and a deer came right up to us. We couldn't believe he would come so close!

We walked around the village, in and out of the stores. Joe had been giving us a hard time about keeping the kids safe from bears, so Mimi had to take this picture of the kids and send it to him...

The Ansel Adams Gallery is full of stunning Yosemite photographs, and we walked through the Visitors Center, the Indian Museum and Village, and the old Yosemite cemetery.

We were ready for some hiking, so we headed over to lower Yosemite Falls. There is a great loop path to walk that takes you directly to the bottom of the falls. Of course the kids couldn't stay on the path, and spent the entire time walking on logs and climbing more rocks.



The trail takes you to the bottom part of the falls, but there are rocks that we were able to climb up to get closer. Mimi stayed at the bottom and the kids and I climbed as high as we could, while still staying safe. We had the best time getting soaked from the water, and trying not to slip as we went up. We were safe from the rushing water, but didn't want to fall on any rocks!

Even with very tired legs, we kept walking around this beautiful area. Zoe was begging to go into the water, so we let them take off their shoes and wade through a bit.


Time to clean up and put the shoes back on...
We grabbed some dinner in the village before hitting the road to drive back to the hotel. We stopped at Tunnel View on our way back. We had stopped early in the day, but it was a bit hazy, so we came back around sunset to check it out. It was gorgeous! El Capitan, Half Dome, and Bridalveil all in one beautiful setting.
After a 12 1/2 hour day, we were back in the room. Time to get ready for bed to enjoy the next day. These kids sure can bicker, but they sure do love each other!