Yosemite for the Fourth

Mike and I spent the Fourth of July weekend in Yosemite National Park. It was our first and definitely not our last visit to Yosemite....the park, particularly Yosemite Valley, is beautiful! It took us about 4 hours to drive there due to traffic, but only took 3 hours to drive home. We can't get over how diverse the Cali landscape is and the bonus is that it's all so close.

Here are just a few pictures followed by videos of our adventures. Anyone want to plan a trip out to Cali and go "glamping" with us? "Glamping" is the new term for camping a bit more upscale...if you know me you're aware I'm not down for sleeping in a tent. The last time I went camping was in college and I slept in the car. :)

The Sierra Nevada Mountain range experienced a late snowfall this year...through the first part of June. I couldn't believe how much snow was still on the ground. Part of Yosemite didn't even open to the public until mid-June.

Wow, what a breathtaking view of the Nevada and Arenal Falls cascading into Yosemite Valley. Check out the snowcapped mountains in the background.

Famous Half Dome...Mike and I plan to hike this next year. It's 16 miles roundtrip and apparently an amazing hike. But, we must first prepare by climbing the Lyon Street stairs several times a week.

I think I have an obsession with waterfalls....they are so amazing to me.

Lions and tigers and A BEAR, oh my! We saw a California Black Bear eating something in a field. I was so excited to see a bear....that was on my wish list for the weekend.

Bridal Veil Falls

We decided to hike a 7-mile round-trip hike up to the top of Nevada Falls. This hike is called the Mist Trail and is labeled as "strenous" for a reason...it was tough!! You're literally climbing stairs for 3.5 miles up to the top of the mountain. Quite an accomplishment. And did I mention this trail is part of the 16-mile Half Dome hike? This picture shows you the rocky steps you climb right on the edge of the falls....as beautiful as it was, it was a bit scary. Because of the late, heavy snowfall in June, the waterfalls and rivers were raging. The reason this trail is called the Mist Trail is because of the heavy mist that wets you as you walk past the falls. Mike and I were absolutely soaked by the time we passed this waterfall called Vernal Falls.

A view of the trail and the raging river beside it.

It was unreal how fast the water was raging. Don't worry, I'm actually safe where I'm standing.

You may have heard on the news this week about the 3 hikers who died in Yosemite. Unfortunately, they climbed over a barrier right before the crest of the Vernal Falls waterfall to take a photo on a rock. All three are presumed dead as it's impossible to survive the fall of Vernal Falls and the raging river. So tragic.

We still have 1.5 miles to go to reach the top of the mountain. This photo features Nevada Falls.

We had to cross a bridge over Vernal Falls to continue the hike.

Another view of Nevada Falls...this part of the hike was so exhausting...we were in direct sunlight climbing huge, uneven stones. We stopped about 10 times to let me catch my breath.

We made it to the top!!

Beautiful photo, but I was not happy with Mike posing on the rock like that.

So proud and so tired. I felt as though the climbdown was almost as hard as the climb up. My legs were shaking so bad from exhaustion.

Beautiful sunset view from the valley. After our hike, we feasted on a buffet dinner at one of the campsites, then sat in the car for a couple of hours and waited for the sun to set so we could gaze at the stars. I've never seen the sky so beautiful at night....the number of stars visible was absolutely amazing.

Below are several mini videos from the trip.



Video of the black bear grazing in the field.

The raging Yosemite Falls which only flows from May thru July when the snow melts.

Hiking the Mist Trail to view Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls.

The top of Vernal Falls.

Raging river!

We made it to the top of the mountain...Nevada Falls!

A wonderful greeting from our fur babies...I love coming home to this every day after work!