Yosemite

It was a great trip, not without some drama. So. Where to begin... the beginning of course. This adventure was done without Aisley. We dropped her off at grammie's house the night before we left. Monday morning we got an early start, leaving San Diego at around 5 am. We headed north, past Mammoth mountain, and arrived at the last place to stop before entering the North-East entrance to Yosemite... The Mobil Restaurant. The drive to this point was super easy, with no traffic. We made great time. We were on the road about 6.5 hours, and on pace to reach our campsite at Tuolumne Meadows around noon, which conveniently is when the reserved campsites for the day become available. We bought some sandwiches to go, and picked up some ice to cool down my beverage of choice... Tecate, for the quick drive into the park to our campsite. In the parking lot, I filled up the cooler with ice, repacked the puzzle of equipment jammed in the trunk of the Honda, and in my haste & stupor from the long drive, closed the trunk... with the keys inside... doh. Oh, and the car was locked too. 2 sandwiches, 2 locksmith's, and about 2 hours later, we were granted entry back into the car. Let's just say simply, new cars are too smart for their own good, and leave it at that. The frustration of the earlier situation was difficult to let go. With many deep breaths and some help from the grand beauty of the surrounding park, ire was diffused to calm. We arrived at the entrance of the campgrounds at Tuolumne Meadows in good time... considering. Nervous because of the time we had lost, we feared we might be sent to a campsite next to the latrines. Luckily, camping midweek saved us. We were actually given a choice of location at the gate, and looking back, we chose wisely. There are 2 camping areas at the meadows: 1) by the Tuolumne River 2) away from the river in the woods with more privacy. We chose to be by the river. The neighbors are close, but the terrain here isn't flat, which helps create the perception of more space. We set up camp amazingly quick and after enjoying an ice cold beer, (which had been cooling for about 2 hours now) comfort set in with the realization that our delay hadn't significantly affected our trip. There was still plenty of day to enjoy around camp, and we decided to head down to the river (50 yards from camp), to explore a bit. It now felt like we were really on a vacation. A place like this has the extraordinary ability to clear your mind and induce a calm that everyone should experience on a regular basis. There were some great swimming holes amidst the gentle rapids of the boulder laden Tuolumne River. The water was so refreshing. Cool but not cold, and because the meadows is situated at a relatively high altitude, the air was warm but not hot in the mid day sun. A real highlight of the trip. In the early evening, we had a suprisingly good dinner at a local lodge, and after, proceeded to get a fire started before the sun disappeared. The fire from hell... the sun did vanish, and in almost TOTAL darkness fiddled for 2 hours trying to get a fire to burn on its own. A lot of newspaper and cardboard went up in smoke in the process. I have never had so much trouble with a fire... ever! We were convinced the wood was cursed. Almost at the point of giving up, a small fire was beginning to hold its own. We were "all in" at this point with our cards face up on the table. We left our fire in the hands of Prometheus and took a much needed break. If it took, we would have fire for a bit... if not, to bed, demoralized. We walked down to the river, in pitch black with a five dollar pen flashlight we bought at the general store on the way into camp (we forgot our flashlight at home... doh). Carefully navigating though the forest, we reached the river's edge and what did we find... absolutely the most stars I have ever seen in the sky ever. Another highlight of the trip. It truly was unbelievable, and is almost impossible to put into words and do it justice. It's something you just have to see for yourself. Upon our return to camp, and much to our astonishment, the fire was blazing. We enjoyed the fire for a bit, but debilitated by the 2 hour struggle, couldn't find the energy to enjoy a feast of s'mores. It got cold that night, and luckily we had brought enough blankets, but the cold has a funny way of eliciting the urge to relieve oneself, making it difficult to sleep... and it was cold. We found out the next morning from our neighbors, a black bear, which Crystal heard during the night, raided their camp (only ~ 15 yards from us) for some food that had been accidentally left out... eerie. When we finally emerged from hibernation after sleeping in a bit & hearing the news of our late night visitor, we enjoyed a nice hike following the tuolumne river upstream. The weather was perfect to spend a couple morning hours winding through the forest at the river's edge. When we got got back, we reluctantly packed up camp and headed off into the heart of the park through winding roads in a quest to reach Yosemite Valley. In hindsight, we would have like to stay in the meadows longer, but this, my first journey to Yosemite, was more of a reconnaissance mission. We really wanted to see as much of the park as possible, in an attempt to narrow in on ideal locations for subsequent trips.

We were in no rush. The weather was gorgeous, and made many stops to soak up the scenery on the way to the valley. One highlight in particular was Tenaya Lake... "mini Tahoe" we called it. A really nice spot about 10 miles west of the meadows. A perfect spot for a day excursion, with a variety of different things to do. After a few other stops along the way, we reached the valley in just over 2 hours (~ 60 miles), where the temperature was significantly warmer... hot actually. Driving all the way into Yosemite Village, trying to conjure up Crystal's childhood memories, to our surprise, the actual village itself was much smaller than we had expected. There's really not a whole lot there. It's more of a staging ground for an assortment of trailheads, all of which afford glimpses of the park's many scenic wonders. The Pines (Upper, Lower, & North) are probably the best camping spots in the valley, always full in the summer, and we found the most difficult to reserve. It's important to note that in the summer, the valley can get surprisingly void of water. The Merced River was really low, and it as well as many of its tributary's were completely dry at the higher elavations along some of the more popular hiking trails. Almost all of the falls were dry. Bridalveil Falls normally a deluge of water, was reduced to a drizzle. We scoped out most of the village, and drained from the drive, found sanctuary in the visitor center. We ended up watching a 20 minute movie about the "spirit of Yosemite" in a small, air conditioned theater. Refreshed a bit, we decided to save energy for the next day in the valley, and go check into our hotel The Yosemite View Lodge, just a couple of miles outside the South-West entrance to the park, ~ 20 minutes drive from the village center. For $ 150 a night, we had a pretty nice room with a view of the Merced, a TV (usa network-tennis US Open coverage), and A/C. It also had a really good pizzeria, which we ended up having for dinner 2 nights in a row. Jacuzzi. Then lights out.

The bed was pretty stiff, but we both slept much better than the previous night. We got an early start hoping to make our last day in Yosemite a full one, packed up our gear for the day and drove into the valley. Again, we surveyed "The Pines" campgrounds on our way to the trailhead for a morning hike to Mirror Lake. We weren't overly impressed with "The Pines". It's flat ground, woodsy camping in close quarters. They are all conviently located to several renowned hiking trails, and there is a good bus system that can get you to anywhere in the valley in 20 minutes or less. We followed the trail north to Mirror Lake on the southern bank of Tenaya Creek which was much more remote and less populated than its counterpart on the opposite bank. I was able to scratch my itch for rock climbing at a couple of places along the trail which was fun for me. As I mentioned before, the valley was particularly dry this summer, and the creek and the small "lake" which we would eventually come upon, were dry as evidenced by the photo (left). The trail to mirror lake was also nice because it followed along the base of Half Dome, which was impressive from that vantage point. The hike took about 2 hours round trip. We made our way back to the village for lunch, and after, decided to abandon the valley to see yet another part of the park in the south, the Mariposa Grove, home to the giant sequoia trees. On our way to the groves, we passed El Capitan, and much to our amazement spotted various sets of climbers making their ascent up the vertical face of the mountain. Seeing the mountain with the reference of humanity, really allows you to fully absorb the true size of these natural wonders. After our quick stop, the drive south was picturesque. On the way up, out of the valley, there is a road stop called "Inspiration point", and true to its name, the view is awesome. You have a birds eye view of the valley with all the major granite attractions set perfectly on a grand stage. From the valley, the drive takes about 1 hour, and it's well worth the time. The size of the giant trees, like almost everything in the park, is hard to appreciate unless you're actually there. Hopefully, the pictures we took can attempt to convey the enormity of this rare occurrence in nature. The California tree is pictured right. Making our way back to Yosemite Valley, we made another stop at Inspiration point in the waning light of dusk to snap few more photos, and then on to our hotel. We soaked our aching bones in the hot tub right outside our room, had our pizza to go this time on our patio overlooking the Merced, and watched R. Federer demoralize A. Roddick in an entertaining US Open quarterfinal match-up. Thanks to my swiss army knife and some ingenuity, we were able to enjoy the few s'mores we missed out on our 1st night, in our room for a late night dessert over "campfire"? We had an early Thursday morning ahead of us. We needed to get back before 4 pm, so we could get Aisley out of day care. Again, we made great time ( Home in under 7 hrs. w/ a stop at In 'n Out for lunch). Planning the trip post Labor Day, and midweek was key.

Being my first trip to Yosemite sort of late in life, and with a wealth of traveling experience under my belt, I had high expectations for what the park had to offer. For the most part, I think the park lived up to them. There might have been a few things that didn't live up to the hype, but the many highlights of our trip were memorable. The Meadows, Tenaya Lake, the stars... oh, the stars, on their own, reason enough to go back. I can say say for sure that with a trial run in the books, it won't be too long before we get back to Yosemite and share some of these experiences with friends and family. This trip is more proof that Life can be sweet.

Post script: See the link to our Yosemite web album to see all the pictures from our trip.

Addendum: We discovered after the fact... Someone who has access to your spare keys can help you in a pinch. They can call your cell phone and use your spare remote entry clicker into the mouthpiece of their phone while you hold your cell phone aimed at your locked car from a close distance. Bingo! Your door unlocks. We tested this on Crystal's 2007 Honda. It may not work with all cars, and aiming of your cell phone at your car takes a little trouble shooting, but it does work. Maybe this knowledge will save you in the future.