And we're back! Yosemite was pretty awesome and I think we're calling first family vacation a success!
Getting some early morning breakfast in. |
I would say Therese qualifies as a morning person, but this baby is happy most of the tine. |
We parked and used the shuttle to get to the visitor center. Therese was so happy to be out of the car seat! |
Here I am thinking the mountains would be cooler than our little Berkeley heat wave... |
John enjoyed some rock throwing. Probably the most scenic rock throwing picture he will ever have. |
We also found a fawn at the end of this hike! A total of three fawns were seen, but this one was REALLY close to the path so John could really tell what it was.
Sad result of the drought. |
We took the kids for dinner first. They got to order off the kids menu for the first time! Typically they just get a smaller plate of what we're eating.
John got mac and cheese and Therese got a quesadilla. |
We left early the next morning for Glacier Point. We had learned our lesson that earlier in the day would be better for babies need to beat the heat.
Plague is endemic in California, but there have been a few cases lately. Put a whole new importance to my rule about not sticking your hands in dark holes. |
They were all very impressed with Matt for wearing the baby. He got so many "atta boy" type remarks.
Busy being super dad in front of Half Dome. |
I should have added fog to the scavenger hunt but it became difficult to tell the difference between the fog and settling smoke from the forest fire.
John liked looking the waterfall that WAS actually flowing on the other side of the valley. It was one that required some serious hiking to get to. Maybe we'll do that when he's 5. |
This is the best picture I could get of the forest fire. |
Pretty feather! Check that off the scavenger hunt list. |
John was having some deep thoughts here. |
John called this "the castle". |
Dirty shoe contest! I think I win. |
Therese had never seen string cheese before, but she decided they made fine teethers. |
The whole place is filled with representative buildings from this earlier period of valley history. John's personal favorite was the Powderhouse Jail Cell.
They actually did keep prisoners in there sometimes back in the day. However, the one time they put two auto thieves in there they just dug their way out. So maybe not a high security option.
He found the chain and started trying to hook it on. He has great aspirations. |
Built in water gun in action! |
It was eerie throughout the valley. The combination of farm activity and smoke from the fires made everything look yellowy-orange and hazy.
Eerie sun. This picture doesn't do it justice, but the sun looked very red. |
John was very impressed with these sculls. |
The magnifying glasses to look at small bones, shells, and rocks were also big hit. |
Therese got some tools to play with for free. |
So much dusty dirt! |
Apparently if you set Therese inside a Yokut shelter and leave she is not fazed. |
It got really really hot on the last leg of the drive through the Central Valley. Here's proof! |
ü fossils
ü flowers
ü fawns
ü fire (forest and fireplace)
ü flying
ü forest
white fir tree
frost
ü ferns
ü feather
ü fog
ü frog
ü falls (as in waterfall)
Pretty good!
I can't imagine why you didn't find frost! ;)
ReplyDeleteLooks like it was a wonderful family vacation! And I've heard Tenaya is a wonderful place to stay. We've never done Yosemite as a family, but it is definitely high up there on the list of places to visit. I'd love to camp there but I think most of the sites are done by lottery. Hard to grab a spot!
Thanks Laurel! Since we went the week that a lot of school started, there appeared to be a lot of camp site available. I think it depends on what type of camping you want to do. If you're going to really cool site backwoods, it's going to take a while.
DeleteYour girls would probably love it!