adventure:: yosemite

back in may, jordan and his classmates ventured to yosemite for a week.  he came home with such enthusiasm and admiration for what he experienced that he motivated us to take a mini vacation this summer.

we went to kernville on friday to bottle our wine (more on that later). on a whim, bobby checked the yosemite website for availability and he got us a site for 2 nights in wawona.  it was an hour to yosemite valley, but we took what we could get.

we got there on monday around noon, set up camp and made sandwiches for lunch.  our campground was right next to the south fork of the merced river.  the kids wanted to swim, so we walked down to the bank.

to our delight, there was a rope swing.  but the kids would have to swim to the other side to get to it. everyone hesitated at the thought of swimming across the cold water.  the river wasn't too wide or very deep but it still presented a challenge.  jordan made it without a problem.  andrew thought about it for a while.  and then i heard him say under his breath, "no turning back" and he took off.  his courage and determination literally brought a tear to my eye.

even bobby and sofia made it across safely and took a turn on the swing.

then it was time for dinner.  i should do a post on camping food. as someone who enjoys to cook, camping is no exception.  i think you can eat well and take it easy.  since we were only camping for 2 days we really made it easy on ourselves.  we "borrowed" leftovers from my in-laws, had cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and made dinners that were quick.

for dinner tonight we brought along a leftover rotisserie chicken that i shredded and then packed in a ziplock.  we brought tortillas, shredded cheese, salsa and some rice i made the night before.  then we just reheated and served with an ice cold blue moon.

after dinner we went to the ranger talk in the auditorium.  ranger shirley set up a campfire and talked about the tradition of storytelling and how important it is to carry on this tradition.  and i love a good story.

we sang songs, talked about black bears and then she told us all about the mountain men of the sierra nevadas.  we make an effort to go to the ranger talks whenever we visit a national park.

one of my favorite things about camping is the morning cup of coffee.

with breakfast.

and then we drove for an hour to the valley to see el capitan and half dome.

we decided to take the mist trail and see vernal fall.  we didn't know the hike would be tough.  and we started off with an injury.

there was a lot of whining, complaining and stopping for water on the way up.

but we made it.  safely.

i may have had a death grip on all of the kids.

we avoided getting eating by squirrels.  then we walked back down.

we were all aching and dragging our feet.  it ended up being a 2 hour hike on a steep trail.  but we are so glad we did it.

we took a car tour around the valley and stopped at a picnic area for some lunch.

seriously everywhere you look it was breathtaking.

just to tease me, bobby let me look around the ahwahnee hotel.  it was a cold night in the tent for me.  but the beauty and comfort of the hotel could not justify the price.  at least not on this trip.

we made it back to camp for dinner and dessert.  banana with chocolate and marshmallows over the campfire.

we were in bed by 9.

the next morning we got up at 7:30.  we had to pack up and check out of our beautiful campsite.

then we took the shuttle bus to mariposa grove to see the sequoia trees.  we didn't have a lot of time and we i was pretty sore from the hike, so we i took it slow.  we did get to see nature at it's finest.

and before we knew it, it was time to go home.

we vowed to come back and see some more.  hopefully before andrew's class comes to visit in sixth grade.

glad to be home and in our comfy, warm beds.