Parting ways at Mirror Lake, we left the Arredondos and Barbara to retrace their steps to the shuttle bus stop while the rest of us hiked west to Yosemite Village where we’d all meet up again by mid-afternoon. Our first half mile was following the bike path southwest to a junction, where we headed north and west on an unsigned trail noted on the GPS – we were a little uncertain we were on the correct route since we right away encountered some deadfall across the trail, but proceeding a short distance further we found some signs indicating we were indeed on the Valley Loop trail. We passed quickly through open forest, alternating regularly between sun and shade, and we stopped for a few minutes at a large, flat boulder just off the north side of the trail – it was just a few steps to the top, where we discovered several Native American grinding holes. The kids wandered up the hill a ways to check out some caves they spied, and we soon resumed our walk westward. Our trail wound its way through multiple rock gardens – actually bands of glacial moraine that line the base of the cliffs throughout the valley – crossing Royal Arch Creek and dropping down to the Majestic Yosemite (Ahwahnee) Hotel. Most of us had been inside the iconic structure before, but we paused for a long-ish while in the cool hotel lobby and wandered through the lounge area, checking out the various historical displays and whatnot. Then it was back out into the heat of the day as we followed the now-paved trail the last 3/4-mile to the Village – Cynthia conveniently completed Mile 18 as we passed the Valley’s medical center, and we shortly thereafter arrived at Degnan’s where we got some cold drinks and enjoyed the air conditioned interior. About 2.7 miles total with 167′ of gain and 367′ of loss – a nice hike, even on a hot day.