We began our six day National Parks adventure by visiting one of our favorites: Yosemite. We reached the park around lunch time after driving four hours from Monterrey. It just so happened to be the 100th anniversary of the National Parks system in 2016, so there was a big spike in attendance at the parks. After we entered the valley floor, we were immediately greeted by a long line of vehicles snaking along the one way road.
The drive up towards Yosemite is still very dramatic, but pales in comparison to the actual valley. The Merced River was a raging rapid with all the snowmelt. Apparently, this year was one of the best in last 5 years for snowfall in the Sierras, so the waterfalls were the best they've been in a while.
We peeled off at the first area we could find so we could stretch our legs and have a bite to eat. We found a nice picnic spot with few people around and enjoyed a great view of the Upper Yosemite waterfall and its reflection in the river.
We explored down a trail for a few hundred yards before it turned into a muddy marsh and turned around. We then re-entered the traffic to try and make further into the valley to find a good hike. After about 30 minutes with little movement, Tyler and the kids started to walk through the meadow and met Laura in the car about a quarter mile down the road where the bottleneck ended.
We parked and walked through the village to the visitor's center where the kids received their Junior Ranger badges and we looked at the museum exhibits about the geology of the valley. We then decided to make our way eventually up to the top of the pass to get the best views of the valley and half-dome rock formation. On the way there we detoured first to the meadow in front of El Capitan. Laura befriended a gentleman with a telescope and observed rock climbers several thousand feet up the sheer face. Callum and Claire played dinosaurs and ran around the big meadow.
Following the meadow, we took a short 5 minute hike up to Bridalveil falls. The path led to the base of the falls and a section of white water rapids. The mist from the waterfall blanketed us with foggy mist and a chill as we squinted up into the sunny glare.
Our final detour was a stop at the famous observation point at the mouth of the valley with a view of Bridalveil, El Capitan and Half Dome in the background.
We then started the 45 minute climb up the canyon wall as the temperature fell from low 70's in the valley to high 30's at 7200 foot Glacier Point lookout. The views were spectacular as usual and the cold air was invigorating. We stayed until dusk finding several different views and finally left with the kids dressed in their pajamas as we made our way to Fresno for the night.
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