Friday was Jane’s birthday, and we had a small celebration and an early dinner at the cabin in preparation for a drive back north to Glacier Point, where there were some ranger talks scheduled both before and after sundown. Sentinel Dome, a destination that had been on Chris’ radar since early in our trip…
Early on in our Yosemite trip planning, we had asked the kids if they wanted to do a day hike to the top of Half Dome, and the answer was an overwhelming yes. So, we submitted a permit application into the annual lottery, fully expecting to not be selected since our group size would…
Since our route back to Wawona passed directly by, we decided to stop at Bridalveil Fall on our way out of the valley. Not much of a hike at all, taking just 18 minutes to wander up the 1/4-mile-long paved trail to the fall, snap some photos, and walk back. When honeymooning here 32…
After meeting us at Degnan’s, Barbara and the Arredondos decided to head back to Wawona – the rest of us figured we could grab a shuttle to the Yosemite Falls area, walk the mile-long loop trail there, and then shuttle again back to Half Dome (Curry) Village ourselves where we’d parked. A short bus…
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…
As planned, we all got on the same bus at Happy Isles and got off again two minutes later at the Mirror Lake trailhead – for some reason, we were expecting this hike to be in open sun for most of its one-mile length (wrong) and completely flat (also wrong). Right away, we were…
Now equipped with a better understanding of Yosemite Valley’s shuttle bus system, our second drive in from Wawona ended with us parking at Half Dome (Curry) Village. Knowing that Happy Isles is just two shuttle stops down the road, we figured we’d attend the Junior Ranger talk we missed on Monday before going one…
After everyone was sufficiently refreshed at Degnan’s Deli – or, at least as refreshed as the 92-degree temperatures would allow – we decided to hike over to Yosemite Falls, figuring we could catch the shuttle back to the main Yosemite Village parking lot. Based on the GPS, it looked like we could stroll through…
After returning to Yosemite Village from Happy Isles, we breezed through the Visitor Center and the museum before joining up with a 2:00pm Junior Ranger talk/walk outside the museum entrance. About a dozen kids were there, including the Arredondo men, accompanied by a motley crew of adults, and the ranger led us all out…
We had rented a cabin in Wawona for the week, our first large family vacation since Maui four years ago. On the books for the week were several excursions into Yosemite Valley, among other nearby attractions, and this initial visit to the Valley centered first around getting most of the ladies to a sketching…