Yosemite
Erin and I got up early (well, sort of) on Saturday morning, August 6, and headed toward Yosemite National Park. It was a four hour drive from San Francisco Airport, but didn't seem to take that long. On the way there we went across the longest bridge that I think I have ever been on and saw a bunch of windmills. We drove through a lot of small towns and up a huge, curvy mountain road. We arrived at the park around noon and spent about 30 minutes trying to find a parking place in Yosemite Valley! Once we found a place, we trekked over to the visitor's center and explored some of the exhibits. We watched a movie about the geology of Yosemite, visited the Ansel Adams gallery, and checked out the gift shops. Then, after a brief rain storm, we hiked over to the Yosemite Falls. There were a lot of tourists there. I don't know what I was expecting, but I didn't think there'd be so many tourists. After spending the afternoon in Yosemite Valley, we drove down to Mariposa, about 40 minutes away, and checked into our hotel, the
EC Lodge. That night we drove around looking for a place to eat. We wound up taking a suggestion from my parents and went to the
Happy Burger Diner. It had good food and was a unique experience! The next morning, we were treated to a deluxe continental breakfast. It reminded us of D&E because they had stations to make your own Belgian waffles, which was one of our favorite things at the D&E cafe. After breakfast, we packed up the car and started back to Yosemite, first stopping across the street at the
Mariposa Visitors Centers for directions and advice. The people there were very friendly and suggested we drive up to Glacier Point. We decided to change our plans and skip the Giant Sequoias in the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees. We are so glad that we did. There weren't as many people, and the view from Glacier Point was spectacular and worth the trip itself (it takes about 45 minutes each way from the Yosemite Valley). After taking in the breathtaking views, we headed back into the Yosemite Valley to hit some of the sights that we missed the day before. We took a two hour tram car
tour of the Valley Floor which was very interesting and I would recommend to others. We rode around taking in the sights, such as El Capitan, which is over 3,000 feet tall, and Half-Dome. We also got to hear some stories about the history of the park, and see how high the water came up during the flood of 1997, when many of the main roads were covered by 5 or 6 feet of water. After the tour, we moseyed back to the car and started our four hour drive back to San Francisco. Temperatures are crazy in California! It was 102F when we left Yosemite. It dropped to about 95F about 15 miles outside of San Francisco and by the time we made it into San Francisco, it was a chilly 59F! We were in our shorts and t-shirts from being in the heat of Yosemite all day and a little unprepared for the cool temperatures of San Francisco, so the first thing we did after checking in was put on jeans and sweatshirts. Erin and I agree we'd love to revisit Yosemite, but at a different time of year. The sights at the park vary greatly from season to season, and we'd like to go back in the spring when the winter snows melting in the high country contribute to stunning waterfalls. We were lucky that 3 or 4 waterfalls were running when we were there. Usually by August, the waterfalls are almost non-existent. When we visit Yosemite the next time, we hope to spend more time in the park, and partake in some of the activities, such as tubing, hiking and biking. If you want to visit Yosemite, just remember to plan in advance, because hotel rooms in and around the park fill up fast!