We got to Yosemite bright & early. Thankfully traffic getting into the park wasn’t too bad. After a short wait at the entrance we headed towards Bridalveil Fall for our first hike of the day. However, we took a wrong turn and ended up at the Tunnel View overlook. Which was a happy accident because it was a beautiful first look at Yosemite. From that point you can see “El Capitan,” “Bridalveil Fall,” and “Half Dome” in the distance. It was breathtaking!
Next it was on to Bridalveil. The hiking trail was closed, but we were able to see to see the waterfall high above us. I can see why it’s called “Bridal-veil.” The way the water falls over the side of the mountain it looks like a bride’s veil flowing in the breeze. Just beautiful!
After that we parked our cars in Yosemite Village and jumped on our bikes. Before riding over to the trailhead for Mist Trail we stopped into the Ansel Adams studio and admired his spectacular black & white photographs of Yosemite. There I saw pretty little turquoise butterfly necklace that made me think of my little butterfly, Havanna (my daughter). I had been looking for the perfect gift for her and I felt like this was it, so I picked it up for her.
The ride to Mist trail was fun. There was a stream at the trailhead and it was such a hot day that the girls decided to jump in! The water was super chilly, so I just stuck my feet in and that was enough to cool me off. It was the perfect way to start the hike. Little did we know how tough it was going to be! The map said “1.6 miles/moderate difficulty,” but it was brutal. Between the 2,000 foot elevation gain and the heat, we had to power through. But once got to the top of Vernal Fall it was all worth it! The views of the fall, the park, along with the cool breeze and mist coming from the waterfall we’re devine!
I almost forgot to mention that while on the hike up we had stopped briefly to rest and I was sitting on a rock when all of a sudden I felt a vibration, kind of like when you go over a rumble strip in your car. My first though was, “is there a train around here?” Then Gisela, who lives in California, said it might have been an earthquake. Later we confirmed that there had been a 6.0 magnitude earthquake right in the Yosemite area! I’m so thankful that we were all safe because there could have been a rockslide.
On the way up we saw some park volunteers that recommended we take a different route back in order to avoid all the stairs downhill, so we decided to take the alternate route. However it required more climbing and ended up being a longer route. But, we did it! Felt good to accomplish such a challenge.
We were exhausted & hungry, but we still had to ride our bikes back to the truck. We got a little lost along the way, so I stayed at Curry Village while Jimbo rode on to find the truck. The girls met up with me there and a few minutes later Jimbo showed up like a knight in shining armor riding a white horse (our truck is white.. can you tell I was delirious at this point?!).
After 12 hours of hiking & biking in Yosemite we headed home for showers and then drove 30 minutes to a place called Yosemite Bug for dinner. But, unfortunately they were closed! So then we headed a few more miles down the road and found a place called the Hideout Saloon. It reminded me of the famous dive bar in Key West because it was wallpapered with dollar bills that people had written on. We guessed that there were a few thousand dollars taped & stapled to the walls!
The food was ok as well as the drinks and live music, but it was great to just be all together and a great way to end a long day!