As I said in my previous entry, our plan was to get up bright and early with the sun to get to Yosemite. Needless to say, after all of our driving, our intensely scary hike to the top of the freaking world, (Moro Rock in Sequoia) and all of our walking, we slept right through our alarms. Clearly we needed the extra rest, so we were ok with getting a later start as we actually had no agenda for the day. Our hotel usually would have offered a hot breakfast but due to COVID, they could not. They did offer a take-away option including fruit, granola bars, muffins and bottled water. So we grabbed some of that for the road, but stopped at the McDonald's right next to us for breakfast.

We got into Yosemite after 10am. Our hotel was about 15 minutes or so from the South Entrance, but where we wanted to be - Yosemite Valley was a good hour drive. It was nice coming up from that way, as after some winding roads, we came to this SPECACULAR view. We stopped for pictures, got back in the car, went through a tunnel, only to be greeted with an even more spectacular view, the MOST AMAZING VIEW on the other side. We took lots of pictures here (see photo album for Yosemite!) and yes, took some time to just stand there and actually enjoy the view too. On our way into Yosemite Valley, we stopped at a few places including some great views of Yosemite Falls.

We decided that we would do two hikes, the first to Lower Yosemite Falls, and the second to Mirror Lake. The "hike" to the Lower Falls was mostly a paved road to a bridge to the very close up view of the Falls. This was my favorite part of Yosemite. The Falls were so powerful, it created a breeze, and yes a bit of splash too. There were actually a good amount of people here, but all were courteous of keeping distance.

On our way back out of the trail, we stopped to take a picture of a cool view of Half Dome, when we heard something right behind us, and BOOM! A bobcat came out of nowhere. The bobcat was not interested in us though, it was clearly stalking something, a squirrel maybe? We left it to its business as I did not want to see what would happen to whatever it had its eye on. I did snap a picture though.

Onto the scary part of this day...I saw some AMAZING pictures of Mirror Lake online and when looking up things to do, hiking to this spot always seemed to be on the list. It was not all that long of a hike in the grand scheme of things, but given our day in Sequoia the day before, and having already hiked and driven a good amount again this day, we were extra tired. But knowing this was the final thing to do before we called it a day, we pushed forward.

The way to Mirror Lake included a hiking path and a bike path. The bike path was just a paved, flat road, while the hiking path was a more uneven dirt path. We opted for the bike path. So here we are, walking along the road, and a family of three (a father and two kids) pass us on their bikes. When not more than 30 seconds later, they come peddling back towards us. The father said "I would turn around if I were you, there is a huge bear just up there on the road!" We both stopped in our tracks and were about to follow them back. But then a couple, probably a few years younger than us comes walking up the path, followed by several more people. The family must not have told them about the bear, or they didn't care because they kept walking. We told them there was a bear, and they just asked if it was on the path or the road. When we said the road, they just shrugged and cut over to the hiking path. There were a few people in front of them, and several people still behind them. Jaime suggested we turn back, but we were over halfway there, I didn't want to give up. Seeing all the people around us, I told Jaime we only had to outrun one of them. (I was joking of course) But either way, we kept moving on toward Mirror Lake.

Along the path, there we saw the HUGE BEAR! Check out my pictures, I did not zoom in for the photo, that is how close we were. But the bear seemed to be unphased by us. I doubt we were in as much danger as we thought we were. Bears are all over Yosemite and people are there every day. But, being a new experience for us, we were not surprisingly extra cautious. It ended up working out pretty great that we cut over to the hiking path as it went alongside a beautiful stream, and provided more shade.

After all of that, you would think we would be extra thankful to get to Mirror Lake safely. Well, we were, but sadly a lot of the lake had already dried up, so it looked nothing like the photos I saw. We did get a chance to stop for some snacks and rehydrate. But overall, it was disappointing. BUT, we had no other plans for the day, and hike to the lake was very scenic and beautiful, so we could not complain.

Thankfully, the hike back out was easy and bear-free. Although, we did see a deer! It felt great to get back in the Jeep. On the way out of Yosemite, we stopped to get a grand view of El Capitan, one of the rock formations. It is a very popular place to climb, and just before we left on our trip, we saw a National Geographic special about a guy who climbed El Capitan all the way to the top WITH NO HARNESS! Can you believe that? Seeing that in person was pretty cool, and made the documentary we had just watched even more incredible.

We were advised by our hotel staff not to come out of Yosemite the way we came, but to exit the park out of the West Entrance and drive back down that way. We did just that, it was an easier drive. We stopped at a restaurant for dinner, and then got back to our hotel around 10:00pm.

So, day 2 of our trip, even more walking at over 24,000 steps, not as much driving, thank goodness, but encounters with several types of wildlife. I don't know why we continue to think it is a great idea to jam so much into such short trips, but WOW did we see some amazing things. Specacular views. Giant trees, huge waterfalls, panoramic scenery, everything was beautiful and amazing, and we had a great time.

There is so much of Yosemite to see! While we got to see some of the greatest hits in Yosemite Valley, there is no way we could experience everything. Even though I live here in California, my mind never goes to these National Parks as something the state has to offer, I go straight to things like Los Angeles and beaches. But I am glad we have ventured out to see more places like this.

Tuesday we woke up early-ish to begin our drive home. As there was pretty much NOTHING to see on the way to Sequoia/Yosemite we opted to cut over to the coast and take the scenic route home. We stopped at two beaches neither of us had ever been to: Avila Beach and Pismo Beach. We had lunch in Pismo, and then enjoyed a smooth ride home. We originally planned on picking up Winnie from daycare the following day, but even though we hit a bit of traffic, we were able to pick her up Tuesday evening and save on a night of day care. She was a good girl as always.

Rumor has it that the European Union will welcome vaccinated Americans sometime this summer. With that possibility and Jaime's 40th birthday coming up, perhaps my next blog will be from an overseas trip. Here is hoping...