Yosemite National Park

On Monday, January 16th we decided to go up to Yosemite for the day. Usually the passes (at least the one by us) is closed at this time of year because of snow. This year has been so dry that they have been able to keep the pass open (although it is expected to close this next week). It is only about an hour and half from our house to the pass and only a little farther into the actual park.

We weren't quite sure what to expect (it being Jan. and all), so we bundled up and played it by ear. The first thing we stopped for (well, besides the bathroom...) was a lake. It usually looks like this....

...but when we were there it looked like this....

Abel and Dad (and Owen) had a great time sliding around on the ice. A nice family let us borrow their sled. Abel had a blast with that. We tried to get Owen to pull him, but he didn't think that was a good idea. :) I decided that it was best for me to stay on the sidelines for this one, I didn't want to fall down carrying  precious cargo.

We then drove to a look out point and saw that people were climbing up this rock/mountain. So, we decided to climb up there to get a good view. It was a long climb up, but we all made it! The view was great and well worth the effort!

That's the lake where they went skating!

It was at this time that my camera decided that the battery was dead....so all the other pictures taken on the trip are on Dad's film camera.

Great view from the top!

We then drove on and stopped at Bridal Veil Falls. It was just a short little climb to the base of the falls. I am hoping that we will get to go back in the spring/summer/fall sometime when the waterfalls are full, although it was pretty cool to see it all iced over too.

We stopped at the swinging bridge (I am guessing it swings a lot more when the river is high) and took a long walk along a path...half the time we didn't know where we were and the other half Abel was complaining about being hungry, so it was fun:). We finally made it back to the car and took off again. (Something we noticed was the lack of helpful signs around the park...no wonder so many people get lost!!)

After this we went on to the village. We got a magnet (something we get whenever we go somewhere new) and a water bottle (best part-everything was 40% off!!). It was then a 2 hour drive back out to 395 and on to home.

Next time we go we want to see Glacier Point and do some actual hiking. We weren't equipped to do any "real" hiking this time (and it was pretty cold!) but someday we would like to.

We also stopped in at Tom's Place (right outside of Mammoth Lakes on the way home) for a great cheeseburger and fries! We had a great day and look forward to going again!