After 16 years of marriage, and 4 kids later, we finally got around to taking our family to Yosemite National Park. Randy and I spent our 5 and 10 year anniversaries in hotels outside the park, driving in for a day and hiking or biking, but never camping in the park. I know, shame on us, such nature lovers, yet depriving our children of this gorgeous wonderland right in Fresno's backyard! One reason we have never camped in the park is the main reason...people! There are so many people that visit this park, it makes it near impossible to obtain a campsite (we had to go online at exactly 7 a.m. PST six months ago to put in a request for a campsite...and they filled within 5 minutes). It can also make your experience unenjoyable to walk shoulder to shoulder with someone every step of your hike. After all, we head to the mountains to enjoy nature, quiet and solitude, not the bustle of a city, right? We decided to camp in Tuolumne Meadows rather than the valley floor to be amongst the least amount of people. Although the campground was full, there was so much room to roam (the meadow right across the way, and miles of trail at our disposal) that it felt like a completely different park than our past day-trips to the valley floor. The meadows, granite peaks, and meandering rivers also made it seem like a different park! It was absolutely gorgeous...mesmerizing at sunset! I hope our family can make it back many times in the years to come!
A sunset walk in the meadows our first night (Sunday).
Monday morning we woke up, had breakfast and packed our lunches to hike up to Dog Lake and Lembert Dome. Isaiah almost made it to the lake on his own (the first 1.3 miles)!
After cooling off our feet and enjoying a quick snack, we headed the next mile and a half up to the top of the dome! Isaiah decided now was the optimal time to nap.
We made it! Violet and Isaiah and I stopped right where you see everyone standing. I was a bit tentative of Randy continuing to carry Isaiah on his back and Violet was not wanting to climb any further or higher. But Isaac and Audrey followed Randy around and up to the very top!
Another evening walk in the meadow, this time all the way over to Parson's Lodge and Soda Springs.
One happy camper!
The next morning (Tuesday) the big boys woke up early to attend a ranger program about bird watching in the park. The girls and Isaiah and I enjoyed a lazy morning around the campsite. After lunch and a quick nap on Isaiah's part, we took the shuttle to Tenaya Lake to swim at the "beach"!
Although I knew I'd get in to clean off, I wasn't really interested in swimming in the lake, unlike all the kids. Their enthusiasm wavered a bit when they felt the chilly waters. To speed up the swimming I gave the incentive of a dollar to the first kid under...Violet plunged in!
Our next morning (Wednesday) we packed up to head over the Tioga pass, down into the high desert and see Mono Lake.
We'd been told by a ranger that a pair of bald eagles lived around Tioga Lake (they are being reintroduced to Yosemite after quite a few years of breeding programs, bringing these national icons back from the brink of extinction). We were lucky enough to spot this beautiful bird on his treetop perch, overlooking the lake!
The weather and geography of the land was immediately different after crossing the pass. After a quick stop at the Visitor Center to learn about the tufa formations in the lake and the history of the area, we drove down to the South Tufa trail and walked around the lake.
There are no fish in Mono Lake, but lots of birds! The birds eat the brine shrimp and alkali flies that feed off the algae in the highly concentrated salty waters (10%). There are lots of streams that feed the lake, but no outlets. The high desert weather simply evaporates the water, and the levels are kept constant by water management (since Las Vegas diverts much of the water from the fresh water streams that would otherwise feed into the lake). The tufas have formed (and continue to form under the water) as the fresh water springs under the surface, rich in calcium, mix with the lake's water, rich in carbonates. As the two mix, a chemical reaction occurs, making calcium carbonate, otherwise known as limestone. As the water level has decreased over the past century, the tufas have been exposed, and then stop growing. What a crazy ecosystem!
Isaac and Violet searching from brine shrimp.
After filling our tummies with a late lunch at the Whoa Nellie Deli (known to locals as simply The Mobil), we headed back over the pass to our campsite. But not before meeting Kayden, a South African man on a bicycle loaded with paniers and practically duct-taped together. Randy chatted with him a bit, learning that he was climbing up the pass into the meadows, and we went on our way. Later that evening we saw him riding into the meadows and Randy flagged him down to say hello again and ask where he was staying. He confessed that he had no idea it would be so difficult to find a spot to pitch a tent, so we offered him a bit of dirt at the edge of our campsite (we were on the edge of the entire campground so we had plenty of room to spare). He biked off to get some dinner and supplies and returned to join us for a warm fire in the evening! We learned he was finishing up a three year tour on his bicycle (6 continents and 40 countries), sponsored by numerous people and corporations to travel, journal, and video blog his journeys (in hopes to make a documentary), all the while raising funds for his non-profit organization. We enjoyed hearing about his ride, were inspired by his passion for what he does, and glad we could lend him a helping hand along his journey!
You can visit his website, learn about his mission, and watch a trailer for his upcoming documentary here...http://www.globalwheeling.org
Thursday morning, after a warm breakfast and some coffee the kids enthusiastically waved Kayden goodbye as he pedaled off in search of the big trees in Tuolumne Grove. Isaiah was waking up from a rough night of very little sleep (stuffy nose, coughing, and couldn't get warm), so we decided to finish up our vacation a bit early (we'd hoped to stay through Saturday morning) and enjoy the day, pack up after dinner and drive home in the dark. We couldn't leave without the kids turning in their workbooks and bags of trash to earn their Jr. Ranger badges!
On the shuttle to the Visitor Center!
Three proud, new Jr. Rangers! They now have completed the program in six national parks!
Afternoon ice cream at the store!
One last hike through the meadow, enjoying the cool waters of the Merced River.
Isaac found a friend!
And here's our family photo, before packing up from our wonderful trip! Yosemite 2013
We hope it will be sooner than later to return to this amazing place!
One of many little critters around the meadow. We spotted yellow-bellied marmots, ground squirrels, numerous birds, and lots of deer grazing in the meadows in the evening.
Did you know there is only one kind of tree in Tuolumne Meadows? The lodgepole pine. They seem to grow out of the rocks...this one at Olmstead Point.
One last view of Half Dome from Olmstead Point as the sun set on our way home Thursday night.
