Yosemite

Dave has been eager to see Yosemite ever since we arrived.   I originally made a reservation for Yosemite Lodge for October 28-29 and we wanted to see Lassen Volcanic National Park this weekend, but Lassen was expecting a snow storm and the road through the park closed on Thursday.

So, we decided to see Yosemite today and hopefully Lassen next weekend.

I ended up making a reservation in Mariposa at the Mariposa Lodge for Friday night.  We stayed in what turned out to be the top floor of a tiny house which had 3 bedrooms, a living room and a huge kitchen.  Dave and the kids even took advantage of the pool and hot tub in the morning before we left.  The kids were happy that none of the had to sleep on a rollaway or sofa bed.

It took us a while to get to Yosemite Valley--the road between Mariposa and Yosemite Valley is slow and winding.  The long line to get through the entry station and the construction on the roads in the Valley did not help.  We were lucky to find a semi-legal parking spot somewhat near the visitor center.  We had a nice picnic lunch and then walked on the lower Yosemite Falls trail which was mostly flat but had some good views.

Little Yosemite Falls

We saw several deer (one is in the background to the right of the kids).

We had to walk back to the visitor center instead of taking the shuttle because of the road construction.  On the way, several deer crossed right in front of me.

 Laura was really excited by the wildlife (squirrels, deer and some pretty blue birds).  We made our way back to the visitor center by foot since the shuttle would not take us directly there because of the road construction.  There, Laura finished up her junior ranger badge requirements before heading back to the car.

We had enough of the crowds in Yosemite, so we left for home and stopped at In-N-Out Burger for dinner on the way.