Road Trip 2017: Day 7 - {Yosemite to Sequoia National Park}

The plan for today was to check out the sites along Glacier Point Road.   Our first stop was Bridal Veil Falls.

We drove up most of Glacier Point Road, but there was so much smoke as we neared the top that decided to turn around since we couldn't see anything at the viewpoints.

By the time we arrived at our next destination, Sequoia National Park, our little tent cabin was ready to load some of our stuff into and then we drove through Kings Canyon stopping at Roaring River Falls

and Grizzly Falls

Honestly I wasn't that impressed with Kings Canyon.  I think living in the Pacific Northwest has spoiled me and raised my standard of beautiful landscapes. 

We had dinner reservations at the only restaurant in the Grants Grove area.  We had just enough time before dinner to check out the General Grant tree - one of the largest sequoia trees in the world.

Dinner was pretty good - slow, but filling.  Our little tent cabin was surprisingly clean and had a cute setup.  Not necessarily ideal for a family of seven, but we managed with putting 4 in one double bed laying horizontally (Abigail's leg elevated on a suitcase on the nightstand) and then Carly and I shared the other double bed and Justin was on his luxury camping mat on the floor.  No electricity and the bathrooms were a short walk away.  Fun experience though.

Road Trip 2017: Day 6 - {Yosemite National Park}

We woke up this morning to find a doe and her fawn lounging outside of our room.  

After the fawn had breakfast we proceeded to do the same and then we were ready to hit the trails.  We booked Abigail on a 2-hour open-air tram tour so she'd have something fun to do while the rest of us went hiking.  Thankfully, she really enjoyed it and was able to get a good taste of Yosemite without pushing her knee too much.  Vernal Falls was our destination.  We captured this amazing view just walking to the trailhead - so beautiful. 

View of Vernal Falls from the Vernal Falls Bridge

There was a drinking fountain at the bridge for people to fill up before continuing upward to the top of the falls.

The hike included lots and lots of stairs and the closer we got to the top of the falls the more slippery those stairs became.  The last time my Mom did this hike the trail was closed because a hiker had just slipped and fallen to his/her death.  I could easily see how that could happen.  Drew was a strong little hiker and made it to the top without anyhow needing to carry him - I don't even think he complained.

The views really were gorgeous - even a rainbow graced our path.

We had some snacks at the top of Vernal Falls and did our best to scare away some pretty aggressive squirrels/chipmunks and birds.

game of chopsticks 

   

Thankfully, there was another way down so we didn't have to navigate the slippery granite stairs.  Instead we slipped and slided down the John Muir Trail - a sandy, albeit less dangerous trail.  Actually we had to do a lot more uphill trekking before we started making our way down.  The Muir Trail offered some stunning views of Vernal Falls from above.

There was so much uphill hiking that we weren't quite sure we were even on the right path.  Even though it was a longer and more difficult path it gave us some amazing views of Half Dome and Nevada Falls. Yosemite is truly stunning!

Looks like Katie wasn’t thrilled with the game of chopsticks they were playing on the bus ride back to the Lodge.

We ate a late lunch back at the lodge with Abigail and then cooled off in the pool until we were ready to clean up and venture into the Village for dinner.

Pool with a View 

   

Yosemite Falls with all five kiddos this time

In hindsight we should have driven to the Village instead of waiting for the buses.  

We crashed hard tonight.  That’s two to a small rollaway and one makeshift chairbed for the littlest.

Road Trip 2017: Day 5 - {Yosemite National Park}

We stayed in Oakdale, California last night, about two hours east of San Francisco and about two and a half hours west of Yosemite.  Our room at the Yosemite Lodge wasn't ready when we arrived so those of us with working legs walked up the Lower Yosemite Falls Trail. 

The kids thought the rock-stacking garden was pretty neat and they added a few of their own creations.

We also popped into the visitor’s center and then enjoyed the huge pool at the Lodge.