Yosemite : Valley

After we'd spent a few days at Lake Tahoe, we travelled down to Yosemite - it was a test of Driver Matt's skills, and of the handling of our rental car. Google decided that the best way between Tahoe and Yosemite was just about the curviest, narrowest road you could imagine - and all the curves along the edges of cliffs! It was very scenic...but we all felt bad for poor Matt's foot, and nerves! (On the way back, we stuck to the state highways and made it back to Tahoe on cruise control.)

Eventually, we made it to our cabin outside the park - I hate to call it a cabin, since it was much nicer than any cabin I've ever been to! Somehow, I didn't take any photos of it, so you'll just have to trust me. It had cable TV (we snuck in a world cup game one morning before we left for the park), a full kitchen stocked with everything we could ever think of, two bathrooms, and a grill. We found it on Airbnb and it was perfect for us! The best thing about it was that it was only 15 minutes from the southern park entrance and 1 hour 15 minutes from the valley - it's hard to get much closer than that without staying in the park itself and paying their crazy hotel rates.

The first night there, we decided to check out a local brewery, South Gate Brewing Company - it ended up being so good, we ate there the following night as well! It might have actually been the best black bean burger I've ever had in my life (high praise!), and the fish tacos were amazing too. We were all really impressed!

The next morning, we set out on our first visit to Yosemite National Park!

We entered the park on the south end and drove north on a winding mountain road for about an hour, went through a tunnel that goes under the mountains - and then came to this. A perfect view of Yosemite Valley! It was so unexpected. My photos don't do it justice, but chances are, if you see one picture of Yosemite, it's from this spot. 

After stopping at the viewpoint, we drove into the valley and stopped at a few places before parking - Bridalveil Fall, some pretty meadows (with a view of Half Dome), and the Merced River. We wondered where all the crowds were...it wasn't nearly as bad as we expected!

After we found a parking spot, we checked out the museum and cemetery and then headed up to Yosemite Falls. We did a hike up to the base of the lower falls and along a ridge in the valley to a historic lodge. A helpful ranger at the museum told us about the hike (on the Valley Loop Trail) and said even though it was easily accessible from one of the most visited spots in the valley, that we'd be lucky to pass a few other hikers on the two miles to the lodge. I was a little skeptical since there were a million people at Yosemite Falls, but he was right! As soon as you get out of the popular spots, it seems pretty easy to find a quieter side to the park. It was a nice hike, mostly in the shade, and with nice views of the valley every so often.

Our hike was a little bit more tiring than expected - we blamed it on the 4,000' elevation and 95 degree heat! Luckily, we ended our hike at the historic Ahwahnee Hotel, which happened to be serving refreshing drinks on the patio. A perfect end to our first day at Yosemite!