We entered in through a different side this time and got to drive through Arch Rock...
These signs were all over the park...
Our first stop was Olmstead Point. This place was also gorgeous, I really can't help but post all of these pictures. We took turns taking each of the kids separately and staying back with the baby, because it was pretty dangerous up there. But very, very beautiful.
One of my favorite pictures!
View of the parking lot and Dan sitting with the baby...
Another favorite...
Our next stop was this beauty, Tenaya Lake. And to top it off, we pretty much had this spot to ourselves.
We stay a fairly good amount of time here and am surprised that none of the kids fell into the water.
It was so serene and peaceful. So much beauty I never even knew existed so close to home!
After this area, we ventured out to Tuolomne Meadows. It was a bit of a drive and unfortunately I have to say this and the next leg of our trip were the most disappointing. Maybe it was because we weren't really able to hike, but this meadow didn't really seem all that awesome. We hung out at the visitor's center for a little bit, but then decided to keep trekking.
We then went on in search of "Saddlebag Lake" which is actually outside the perimeter of Yosemite. I heard about it from a blog or something and it was an "off the beaten path" type adventure. Well it was a little hard to get to, including unpaved roads. And once we got there, there really wasn't that much to see. The lake was pretty low due to the drought. Sure, it was pretty, but not something I would go out of my way to see.
We decided to chalk it up to a loss and drove all the way back around to Yosemite Village to wander around. I was a little annoyed at all the driving that we had already done to see things that I didn't think were anything spectacular.
We got back into Yosemite village and things changed. We decided to get some postcards, write in them and mail them at the Yosemite postoffice. It was relaxing after a long morning/afternoon in the car and a lot of fun.
It was a neat experience to use the Yosemite postoffice!
Next we went to the Yosemite Natural History Museum.
I didn't take any pictures in the museum, but the stuff in there was pretty cool. There were several signs that said "Selfie sticks were not allowed." We asked one of the employees what that was about and he said, people were using selfie sticks and damaging the artwork. Too Funny!!
After the museum we decided to do a small hike to see Yosemite Falls. It was the perfect time and truly made up for what I felt was wasted time driving to see Tuolomne Meadows and Saddlebag lake.
The hike was beautiful and just being in nature surrounded by so much beauty was an amazing feeling.
Cool benches right?
I told you I love bridges right? This little gem is more spectacular than any picture could make it seem. The background of this bridge is out of this world. I totally fell in love with this space in that moment.
I was surprised it took them 5 days to figure out that they can ride in front of the Bob stroller...
Then this beautiful nature walk led to this beauty...
But we didn't stop there. The hike took us to the bottom of Yosemite falls.
It was on our walk back to the car that Priyana, out of the blue said, "Thank you Mom and Dad for bringing us here. I loved it." And typing that just brought tears to my eyes. Gratitude at its purest. Im usually a pretty frugal person, but vacations are important to me. Because it is all about family time and being together and experiencing these wonderful moments together. Moments that I hope my kids will look back on when they are older and think... my childhood was pretty awesome.
Also on the way back to the car we saw a deer!
We decided to go back to the pizza place to eat because it was so delicious and we were pretty tired at this point.
After dinner, we headed back to the car. And the kids passed out before we even left the park. On the way out, I brought up again my whole confusion about why "Speeding kills Bears" is such a big thing in Yosemite. Are there really even any bears here Daniel and I questioned.
Before we got out of the park, no joke at all... A bear cub jumped out right in front of our car and ran across to the other side. Had I been speeding, that Bear would definitely have been dead. He was so close to our car. It was an absolutely perfect ending to a wonderful day.
We drove back to Fresno and checked into the hotel, Best Western Plus Fresno Inn. One of my favorite hotels from the trip. If I were to do this vacation over again, I would have spent 4 nights at this hotel.
Only 1 day left!
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