Labor Day Weekend: Yosemite

September 4-7 we went camping. In April, Jordan made reservations for us to stay in the Diamond-O Campground, a mile outside of Yosemite. We were a day and a half late making reservations and all the campsites in Yosemite were taken and we got the last site in our campground. About a week before we were supposed to go, we found out that the entrance closest to us on Hwy 120 was closed due to a wildfire. The wildfire was caused by a controlled burn that got out of control within an hour of starting it. Remember this was 2 weeks before a major holiday. Anyway, we debated on whether or not to even go, figuring we had a pretty good reason for canceling and finally decided we might as well go and camp. Hetch Hetchy was only 30 minutes away from our campsite so we could go there for one of the days and see at least some of Yosemite. We could also drive around the park and enter at the Hwy 140 entrance. On the map it only looked like a couple hour drive. We had options.

We talked to the camp host when we arrived and found out we had a 3 1/2 - 4 hour drive on a very windy road to get from our site to the 140 which would take us into Yosemite Valley. Thanks to holiday traffic, getting to our campsite took us 5 hours when it should have taken about 3. Needless to say none of us were anxious to get back in the car to drive for 4 hours, see the valley for 4 hours and drive 4 hours back to our campsite to sleep in a tent. So we decided to just hang out and relax the first day. After all, we were on vacation!

Just down from our campsite was a beautiful river. It was nice that it was a short and easy walk so McKay could do it himself. 'ME' as he always says.

I love that when he wants to he will smile for me on demand!

We all found 'comfortable' rocks (or laps as the case may be) to sit on by the river. McKay was anxious to keep moving until we suggested he throw rocks in the river. He had so much fun he didn't want to leave!

So beautiful and relaxing!

After lunch we weren't too sure how to continue our relaxing day. We weren't planning on 'relaxing' and didn't bring anything to read or do. So we decided to take a nap with McKay, since we were all tired. After the nap Jordan and I almost took and the nap McKay didn't even try to take, we all got up and ate dinner, fighting the bees and squirrels that came out of the woodwork every time we ate. The food was good though!
Every time Jordan or I would come back from the bathroom, McKay would come running to us and give us a big hug (squeezing our legs) like he hadn't seen us for days. Made it fun!

Apparently Gatorade powder in a bag is very mesmerizing and entertaining for a 2 year old to watch go from end to end. McKay was constantly asking to either eat or go 'bye-bye' so it was nice he found something to keep himself occupied with for a while.

The next day we went to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir which is on the northwestern side of Yosemite and supplies drinking water to the San Francisco Bay Area. When we entered the park, Jordan asked the attendant if Hwy 120 was still closed. She said it opened that morning but that Big Oak Flat Road, which takes you from 120 to Yosemite Valley, was still closed. Hwy 120 is Tioga Road in Yosemite and takes you through the high country of Yosemite.

We decided to hike to Wapama Falls, about a 5 1/2 mile hike round trip. It was a pretty hot hike with very sporadic spots of shade. They suggest hiking it in the spring or fall for that reason. I think it also would have been very pretty at sunset.

Don't get me wrong. It was a beautiful hike. Just hot.

We talked about continuing past Wapama to Rancheria Falls (13 miles round trip) but I convinced Jordan that if we went and drove Tioga Road rather than walk another several hours, we could get our 'money's worth' out of the $20 entrance fee into the park (thank goodness!)

McKay was a good 'hiker' and even took a short nap (his ONLY nap for the 4 days we were gone) until Jordan slipped on a loose rock and fell. Jordan's knee was sore for a few days after that. The majority of the trail was very rocky.

Pretty waterfalls huh?! We need to go back in the spring when there is more water. That is part of the reason we entertained the idea of continuing on to Rancheria Falls; it wasn't nearly almost dry like Wapama was. We passed a backpacker who had come from Rancheria and he said it was a long, hot hike with much of the same views we had already seen. Made up my mind!

There were signs all over the place about not getting into the water yet there were still people in this little pool. It did look very refreshing and tempting but com'on, we drink this water!

Tioga Road is only open June-October. The rest of the time there is too much snow. We drove for a good hour before there was something to stop and see. It came just in time too because Jordan was starting to get loopy; too much time in the car I think.

Olmsted Point
You can see Half Dome behind me. Clouds Rest is behind Jordan. We stopped for a few minutes to look around and take a couple of pictures and then kept driving.

Tenaya Lake
This place was beautiful! There were picnic tables in the trees near the lake so we stopped and had some delicious stew with a great view. It was the best, most enjoyable meal we had the whole time we were camping.

The water was a beautiful clear blue and there were lots of Stellar's Jays to watch. We wished we could stay longer but knew we had to move on to see more of the park before sunset.

Tuolumne Meadows
This meadow is 2 miles long and is pretty amazing to see as you come around the corner. McKay was DONE being in the car by the time we got here (no naps remember) so I jumped out to take a picture, and we began the 2 hour drive back to our campsite. If we had known they would open up Tioga Road we would have done Hetch Hetchy our first day (instead of 'relaxing') and spent all day in the high country of Yosemite our second day. There were hikes all along the way with varying levels of difficulty and distance. Now we know what it is like, we will make an effort to make it back there and try some out. Yosemite Valley is the most visited part of the park and if we had been able to go there we may not have ever known how beautiful the northern part of the park is. So I guess the wildfire burning half the park was a blessing in disguise.

We stopped again at Olmsted Point to do the .2 mile walk out to get a better view. We were all glad we had our sweaters because the wind up on those rocks was chilly!

Perspective.
You can hike from Olmsted Point to Half Dome but it is a really rugged 10 miles so you really need to know where you are going... and have lots of water. I don't think we'll be doing it anytime soon.

The trees grow in and around the rocks, as you can see in the above pictures. Everything is always so beautiful at sunset. The sunset as we drove back to our camp was b-e-a-utiful but of course all the pull out points were at the wrong spots! The smoke from the fire made the sunset even prettier.

This is the tree framing Half Dome in the above picture. Jordan and McKay were picking out the best looking boulders as we walked back to the car. This one with the tree growing around it was a favorite.

When we got in the car to come home, we hadn't even started the car yet and McKay asked for a book. With all the driving we did, he had looked at each book over and over again, not even looking at the whole book. At that point we knew it was going to be a long drive home. And remember holiday traffic? It was a long drive! Contrast this with how excited he was to go. All day Friday he kept asking me to go 'bye-bye' and when we were loading up the car he was running all over the house excitedly saying 'hi' to Jordan and I over and over again. When we got to our campsite and had the tent set up he was running around there saying 'Mama, yay!'. Jordan and I looked at each other and said 'THAT is why we do it!'

Even though our weekend didn't turn out the way we had planned months ago, it was still a great weekend together in a beautiful and fun place. That makes for a good weekend! There is something rejuvenating about being in nature. (It's almost as rejuvenating as taking a nice shower at the end.) I think McKay is learning to love it as much as we do.

BTW: if you didn't click on my links, you really should, unless you really don't have time. Some of the descriptions of the hikes are funny to read and other sites show what the places look like when there is actually water falling or snow etc. Plus, it is educational, if you want to learn about Yosemite. Enough said. :)