Onto Yosemite

When we left the glory of King's Canyon, we headed for Yosemite.

Along the way, we took a detour to see the Sequoia Graveyard near the Boole Tree.  At the turn of the twentieth century, a logging company had purchased this massive grove of sequoias to log them.  At one time, the once majestic grove was completely leveled.   Only one massive tree, now called the Boole Tree, was left standing.  

The Sequoia Graveyard.  The newly growing trees are 20-100 year old sequoias planted by forest rangers to replace the lost giants.

The saddest part is that the trees were so massive that when they were felled the wood splintered so badly that the wood could only be used to make matchsticks and other paltry product.  As we walked through the sequoia remains, the history lesson was not lost on our children (or the adults for that matter).  Thank goodness so many California explorers saw the value in protecting this land as National Forest.

Unfortunately, the drive from Kings Canyon to Yosemite was long and VERY winding.  Poor E-Bear was in the back seat and got car sick seven times on the trip.  "This is my least favorite day," he announced, and we couldn't blame him.  In spite of the travails of the day, when we pulled through the tunnel leading into Yosemite, we were speechless.  

So grand and splendid were the rock formations with the valley below.  Do you see Half Dome in the distance?

Our lodging at Yosemite was Camp Curry, where we were greeted by a flurry of activity and more foreign languages than we could count.  It was truly an international destination.

We opted out of the unheated tents (maybe next time) and splurged on a cabin room with a bathroom and a loft.  It was perfect for us.  The views from our cabin door were spectacular.

We ate all our meals in the dining room. The kids loved getting to choose their own food for all the meals in the cafeteria.

Even our rambunctious crew fit right in.

We took advantage of the 2 hour Valley Floor Bus Tour for our first morning in Yosemite.  It was the perfect way to get oriented and see the major sights of the Valley Floor.

We gaped incredulously at the rock climbers tackling El Capitan. 

Although we didn't see any of the infamous Yosemite brown bears, we found adventures around every corner.

Some of our favorite moments were wading by the shallow river, throwing rocks and exploring the puddles.  Nothing simpler, nothing better.

 We loved being explorers in Yosemite. I told T that I think it is a definite repeat!  But, we'll fly into Fresno next time ;) .  We were sad to bid Curry Village farewell.

Yet, there was still more fun in store!  We were off to Carmel for our family wedding....