After a mere 66 years I finally made it to Yosemite National Park! I was chatting with my daughter Stefanie about why I’d never visited before. The only thing I can think of is it’s simply out of the way.

It’s not on the way to anything, except the Park. Those extra miles and hours in traffic and people cannot take away the beauty that is Yosemite!

Our original plan was to reserve a camp site which was a “no go”. We looked at hotels and were not willing to spend $500 a night so option B or was it option C … was to camp on the roadside and drive into the park the following day. I wasn’t thrilled.

Luck would have it that the morning we were headed to Yosemite we did one last online check of campgrounds and found a reservation open for 2 nights at the Housekeeping Camp. Awesome! Beds for 4, covered patio, showers, a camp store and a shuttle stop across the street. Pricey for camping but so worth it.

Lucy was able to use her 4th grade National Park pass which was exciting for her. She now has the rest of the summer to use it anywhere in the US. That is a pretty cool gift.

Camp located, car unpacked and sleeping bags and pillows arranged, we took off to find dinner. Only one cafe was open as most places seem to close at 6 pm. It worked.

Bear boxes were provided to each camp. They had to contain everything with a scent which meant not just food but also toiletries. For me it required going through all of my stuff – because even chapstick has a scent. I think we were all worried we may have forgotten one little item…

Morning came sooner than expected. The night was not perfect. I woke a couple times listening for bears, Stef was worried she might fall out of the top bunk because there was no rail, but I think both kids slept well. It’s always best when the kids are rested.

First on the agenda after breakfast was to catch the shuttle and get started on the Mist Trail heading to Vernal Falls, hoping to make it to Nevada Falls.

The view along the trail was so gorgeous. I wanted to keep looking up but had to stay focused on the trail. It was a sacrifice I was willing to take!  The snow fall and eventually the melt was tremendous this year.  The waterfalls were gushing water and the river was raging.

At the top of the lower falls we had a well deserved snack and continued to Upper Vernal Falls.

Before arriving at the Upper falls, we walked up the very long, steep Mist Trail. Mist isn’t the word I would use to describe the amount of water falling on us. It felt more like a downpour with wind included. We were all soaked, down to our underwear. It felt great to be done with that section of trail!

Stay away from the edge was the quote of the day.

Now on to Nevada Falls. The kids enthusiastically wanted to keep walking which they may have regretted later!

Nevada Falls was relaxing. A great spot to sit, eat and people watch.

We ran into another misty wet trail section and couldn’t get through it quick enough. Both Stef and I didn’t care if our shoes were wet this time because…

The views were incredible!

When we found a nice shady spot we took one more turn at wringing our socks out. At this point Alden said his feet hurt so we checked to make sure there were no blisters. Nothing suspicious however his feet were wet and wrinkly. Stef was afraid his callouses would tear (Mr. Rock Climber’s feet) so she bravely put Alden on her back and carried him for 30 minutes.

At the end of that time his feet were dry and somewhat smooth. While he would have preferred to continue the ride… it was time to walk on his own again.

With about 1 mile to go the kids hit their wall and had trouble focusing on getting to the trailhead. We had spent about 9 hours along the trail. They deserved their aches and were looking forward to ice cream and a grilled burger. The ice cream was easy, the burger was not because the grill closed 30 minutes before we arrived. Pizza it is!

A very long day but such beauty surrounded us all day. Even the Mist Trail was uniquely beautiful.

#yosemitefalls2019 #alotofsnowmelt