Even though last year's trip was a bust, Dylan's family planned another trip to the lovely Yosemite Valley over spring break, with the contingency that if there was rain or snow or wind or cold temps or anything else miserable sounding, we wouldn't go. Our trip was postponed for a day because of a storm, but when we actually arrived in the valley we had lovely weather, which made for a lovely time.
Before I go on to post some of the billion pictures that I took, I'd like to take a moment to say that I HATE sleeping bags. In an attempt to save some space in our overcrowded minivan, Dylan and I brought sleeping bags instead of our usual down comforter. Well, we saved some space but nearly froze to death at night because even though they're made for cold-ish temps, there wasn't enough weight to keep me warm. Not to mention that I'm a side sleeper and that doesn't work to well in a mummy bag. Every time I'd try to roll over or try to get up to go calm a wimpering child, I'd find myself completely tangled up and unable to find my way out. Seriously, whoever invented the mummy bag did not use me for product testing. And poor little Stella was squeezed into this super warm, fuzzy baby sleeping bag and she kept waking up and saying "stuck" over and over until I'd unzip her. Next time, we're going back to blankets!
Okay, enough with my rant. Here's some pictures:
A few weeks before our trip, I checked out every book I could find on Yosemite from the Library. There was also this DVD called "Yosemite 4 Kids" which showed video footage and had explanations of different parts of the park. After watching the video a dozen times, Emma and Grady decided that they just HAD to hike the Mist Trail (aka a "strenuous" several mile hike up a steep granite staircase covered in mist from Vernal Falls). Super Dad was brave enough to take them. I kept our runners (Landon & Stella) back at camp. They survived the hike and were SO proud of themselves.
Behind our campsite there was a little meandering creek that the boys couldn't stay out of. They started with innocent pine cone races and then ended up fully wading in it. I could only be a little bit annoyed since they are boys...why would I expect anything different!
Grandpa David brought Elk burger and Elk steak for dinners. The reward for eating them was s'mores. Lots and lots of s'mores.
Stella was just a little bit cold in the morning...
Oh, and she had some road rash on her nose that happened within minutes of arriving
Climbing around Yosemite Falls
The kids minus Stella
Because I was wearing her...
Pretty kids, pretty scenery
I don't exactly trust Landon in here with Stella
Taking a break during a family bike ride through the Valley
This view NEVER gets old:
A shout out to our parents for the trailer hitch and bike rack! Now we just need some new suspension...
On our way out we had to visit Bridalveil Falls
So there you have it. We survived spring break camping in Yosemite. And we had such a good time that it almost makes us forget about last year's trip!
