Yosemite Valley

We had a full day to explore Yosemite Valley. If I had my druthers, we would do a lot of hiking. But I knew that I had to temper my plans for Kai and my wife.

We started out with a full breakfast at the lodge. Kai had a huge cinnamon roll (which he ate about half) and a plate of potatoes.

As you enter Yosemite Valley, there is a place where you can see down the entire valley and see many of the most famous sites. In the following photo you can see El Capitan on the left, Half Dome down the middle, and Bridalveil Falls toward the right.

I wanted to do one longer hike and a couple of shorter ones. For the longer hike I chose the trail to Vernal Falls. It is about a mile and a half uphill, but it is paved and the Valley had no snow in contrast to the area we went to the day before.

The hike was actually easier than the one to Tuolumne Grove, but Kai didn't think so, The old Kai reappeared, constantly saying that it was too hard and he didn't want to go on.

He took frequent breaks and I wondered if we would make it. The scenery all the way up was very beautiful, though I don't think Kai appreciated it.

We finally reached the footbridge from which we can see Vernal Falls.

The way back was almost all downhill and Kai stopped complaining. I prefer hikes where the way back is easier than the way out, but I think when we hike with Kai it is better to have the harder part on the way back because Kai is motivated to come back no matter how hard it is. If the hard part comes first, he doesn't want to go at all.

Kai was happier when we took a break for lunch.

This is the off season at Yosemite and the line to buy food at lunchtime was still slow, and the parking lots crowded. I'd hate to see this place during peak tourist season in the summer.

After lunch we drove around and found a spot to take this photo of Half Dome.

And then we went to see Yosemite Falls. The following photo shows both the Upper and Lower falls. The Upper Falls are visible from far away, but this is the place to see both falls together.

We then hiked right up to the base of the Lower Falls. It was great to lay back on the rocks and feel the mist from the falls.

Kai even admitted that he was glad we hiked up close to the falls.

My wife had the idea to refill our water bottles with the ice cold water from the falls. It was very refreshing.

I wanted to end our time in Yosemite on a high note, so rather than push for another hike, I decided to call it a day. On the way out of the valley, we stopped to see El Capitan up close.

After taking a break in our room, Kai wanted to swim in the pool again.

We had dinner and Kai, of course, wanted to make s'mores again.

Kai loves this lodge. He said that he wants to live here and loves everything about it except that it is in the middle of nowhere. Ha, to me the location is one of the best parts!

Alas, we will have to depart. Our vacation is nearing an end.