And then, on to Yosemite. We had a lovely uneventful drive from Sequoia to a spot just outside the southern entrance to Yosemite. I had loaded up on groceries in Visalia, so we just needed a couple of stops in Fresno to refill propane and get a few things at Sam’s. The valley was already ridiculously warm in late April and we were happy to be heading back up to a cooler elevation. We made our home in a big parking lot at the Goat Meadow Snow Play Area in the Sierra National Forest. Quite a few other people had the same idea. It got pretty busy most nights with a mix of trailers, campervans, and tent campers who made their home in the surrounding forest.
Because it was still spring, we wouldn’t be able to head up to Tioga Pass, so we had to limit our Yosemite activities to the valley and things at lower elevations. We first headed up Glacier Point Road to get the big picture of the valley. And boy, did we ever! We could see the whole eastern half of the valley and it was almost unreal. Incredible mountains interspersed with giant waterfalls highlighted by the greens of trees and meadows. We could see Vernal and Nevada Falls as well as Yosemite Falls; Half Dome dominated our view with endless mountains behind it. We spent a long time just looking and looking and looking, taking it all in.
After our little wander at Glacier Point, we made our way up to Sentinel Dome. We needed a few breaks on the way up, but when we got to the top, we could see the whole valley as we moved around the dome. Now we could see El Capitan and Bridalveil Falls. We couldn’t spend too much time on that side of the dome since the wind was quite brisk and cold, so we sat on the eastern side and eventually laid down in the warm sun. Absolutely fabulous with eyes open or closed.
The next adventure took us into the valley. We got an early start as things were quite a bit busier here than in Sequoia. We were about an hour from the trailhead at the eastern end of the valley, so we got to enjoy the views as we got to see the valley up close now. We geared up for a hike up to Vernal and Nevada Falls – poles and raincoats required. We got a little warm up as we walked from the parking lot to the trailhead, then the Mist Trail took us right up. We pretty much went up for a couple of hours, moving from ramp to steps to rocky terrain. As we approached Vernal Falls we put on raincoat and poncho as the trail earned its name. I guess it was still a mist, but it was so heavy that our faces were soon dripping. We made our way through puddles and up steep stairs through the mist, making our way back to dry. We found a sunny spot by the river above the falls to take a little rest and then moved on.
We slowly made our way up to the top of Nevada Falls, getting glimpses of it, but staying dry this time as the trail was quite a ways from the falls. These trails were pretty incredible. It’s hard to imagine how much work it took to create either these rocky trails or the still semi-paved John Muir Trail that we took down.
Once at the top, we took a well earned rest and enjoyed the views. We could see Glacier Point and Sentinel Dome off in the distance and down into the valley. We ate a little and took some time to call our moms as it was Mother’s Day and then down we went.
This time we took the less steep John Muir Trail most of the way down. This was a much easier slope and easier on the knees than the Mist Trail would have been. As usual, the way down was sooooo much faster!
After getting back to the car, we decided to explore the valley a little, parking near Yosemite Village and wandering a bit. We saw Yosemite Falls from below and enjoyed a meadow in the middle of the valley.
The mountain dogwoods were blooming and we loved seeing them everywhere. 
And then back to our campsite to relax in the sun.
The next day we headed back to the valley to do any easier hike around Mirror lake. We slept in a tiny bit since it was a Monday and the parking hadn’t seemed to bad the day before and there was indeed plenty of room. We put on our hiking shoes and headed toward the lake. About a mile and a quarter in, I realized we might have left the truck unlocked, so we trekked back to the truck, which was indeed unlocked. Take two, this time a little warmer as we had some sun starting to peek over the mountains.
We made our way up Tenaya Creek and soon saw the lake. We enjoyed taking a little time just sitting near the lake and then in a meadow to take in the views of the mountains around us. We took the trail all of the way up and around the lake so we could see the other side, dip our feet in the frigid water at a small beach and so that I could read all of the informational displays.
The next couple of days were taken up with work, research, and errands. I made an attempt to get to Mariposa Grove, but wound up aborting it. This was the biggest grove of sequoias in the park and was very close to where we were parked. It had just reopened after a big wind storm had taken down a lot of trees in the area. I tried to hike in on a forest road that left from our spot and approached the grove from the side. Most of the hike was very nice, but once I got near the grove, it was clear that they had not cleared all of the down trees in the area. I climbed over and around many trees across the road, but eventually, the going was just too hard, at least in my Chacos. I turned around, enjoyed the downhill on the way back, and was grateful that we got to see so many sequoias the week before.