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| El Capitan |
Saturday morning we drove to Mariposa to prepare for a day in Yosemite on Sunday (we had considered trying to do a day trip into Tahoe to ski, but the snow wasn't really cooperating with that plan). We were going to boondock at the county park and ride, which is a really good spot for this. You can stay for up to 48 hours, its only about an hour drive to the valley floor, it has a bus stop for the bus into the park, and the town's small main street is a short walk away. However, we discovered that there had been a rockslide on the highway into the park and it was closed. Due to this we pivoted to moving half an hour south to Oakhurst. This is on one of the other two highways into the park and has a Harvest Host there. So we hitched back up to the camper and managed to get a spot at the Yosemite Wine Tails tasting room, parking in their back lot. It's not big enough to turn around and we pulled in headfirst, meaning we were going to have to back on onto the road to leave.
The wine tasting at Yosemite Wine Tails was good and the host was very friendly (including telling us not to worry about rushing back from the park to get the camper out of the lot by any specific time). Taking one of her recommendations, we walked to the nearby Oakhurst Grill for dinner. We really enjoyed their mini creme brulee cheesecakes.
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| Bryn enjoying the Oakhurst's decorations |
Sunday was our Yosemite day. We came in via highway 41, so our first glimpse of the valley was from the tunnel view. It's an excellent view of the valley, and the snow made it a very different experience than when Shawn visited years ago in September.
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| Yosemite Valley |
We drove through the valley floor, making short stops at a lot of lookouts as well as Bridalveil Falls and Yosemite Falls. Unfortunately we only got to do very minor hikes at these falls, as the main trails were closed for a combination of restoration and because they get too icy during winter. We stopped in Yosemite village for a quick lunch, and then checked out the museums (Ansel Adams Gallery, Yosemite Vistor Center, and Yosemite Museum).
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| Bryn and a very old redwood |
After lunch we did the Mist Trail up to the Vernal Falls bridge, though because of plowing restrictions we did have to park a mile away from the trailhead. This 0.8 mile trip up the bridge is actually the same trail that started Shawn's John Muir Trail hike back in 2014. However, this time the hike ended at the bridge, as further on the trail was closed for winter. The path up was covered in snow, and we had to go slowly at points to avoid slipping. Once we arrived at the bridge, we had a view of Vernal Falls about 3/4 of a mile upriver.
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| Mist Trail |
After our hike we continued with some scenic drives around the valley floor, stopping to gape at the views. It's been Shawn's favorite park for years, and even without being able to ascend Half Dome again it lived up to the hype.
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| El Capitan, Cathedral, Sentinel |
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| El Capitan |
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