California Trip - Day 3: Vernal & Nevada Falls

On our third day of the trip, we drove into Yosemite Valley. We stopped at Tunnel View (right after passing through the tunnel) to take in the views and then walked up to Bridalveil Fall which was a very short walk. Then we parked at Yosemite Village and took the shuttle to the start of the Mist Trail. The Mist Trail takes you across the Vernal Fall Footbridge and up the "Giant Staircase" along Vernal Fall (317 feet tall) and then up alongside Nevada Fall (594 feet tall). The entire hike has a 2200 foot increase in elevation and was about 6.5 miles round trip.  We were drenched from the mist off the Merced River! After making it to the top, we had amazing views of the valley and then took the John Muir Trail back down to the bottom.

Entering the Valley

Tunnel View

Tunnel View

Tunnel View

Bridalveil Fall

Bridalveil Fall

Bridalveil Fall

Vernal Fall Footbridge over the Merced River

View looking down from the Footbridge

Rainbow over the Vernal Fall

Vernal Fall from the Giant Staircase

Rainbow near the top of Vernal Fall

After the Giant Staircase but before the Final Push to the Top

View from the Top of Vernal Fall

Resting at the Top of Vernal Fall

View from Vernal Fall

Climbing Nevada Fall

Nevada Fall

The Very Top of Nevada Fall

Top of Nevada Fall

View from the John Muir Trail

Hiking Down the John Muir Trail

Looking Back at Nevada Fall

John Muir Trail with Nevada Fall in the Background

John Muir Trail with Nevada Fall in the Background

John Muir Trail with Nevada Fall in the Background

View of the Valley from the John Muir Trail

Steep Granite Cliffs Along the John Muir Trail

The Boys Earned Their Ice Cream

California Trip - Day 2: Tenaya Lodge

On our second day in California, we drove towards Yosemite and the Tenaya Lodge. We didn't stay right inside the park - but our resort was only a mile or two outside the entrance. We chose it because of the amenities that would keep the boys entertained in the afternoons/evenings: nice outdoor pool, yard games, indoor pool with nightly movies, game room with pool tables, air hockey, and shuffle board, fire pits for s'mores, and much more! On our way to Tenaya, we stopped in a cute town called Mariposa for lunch. After checking in, we explored the resort a bit and spent some time at the pool. Then we had dinner at the pizza place on-site before calling it a night.

Entering the foothills of the Sierra Nevada

Mariposa

Tenaya Lobby

Indoor Pool

Giant Chess by the Pool

Outdoor Pool

Game Room

Game Room

Another View of the Indoor Pool

California Trip - Day 1: San Francisco

We started our California trip with a quick day in San Francisco. We had a friendly Uber driver who gave us a quick tour of the city on our way down to the Golden Gate Bridge. We saw the Crookedest Street in California (Lombard Street), Fisherman's Wharf, and Pier 39. After we were dropped off, we walked along the bay towards the Golden Gate Bridge. We saw Alcatraz and also two sting rays in the marina. After we made it to the bridge, we went to Oracle Park for the Giants game (stadium #11!). We had great seats in the first row of the upper deck - but it was so windy! The boys were able to go down the giant Coke slide a few times and sat in the cable car they had along the concourse.

Golden Gate Bridge

The Crookedest Street

San Francisco

Rays in the Marina

Watching Batting Practice

Great view from our seats

Swim Lessons

The boys finished up their swim lessons this morning - they did a great job!

Strawberry Picking

The boys and I went strawberry picking at Mandigo Farms today. They had a lot of great berries! We have a lot of strawberry ice cream in our future.