July 28, 2016
We woke up very early to leave the main valley and find a campsite. After driving an hour to what we thought would be our best shot, we got lucky, and scored this nice little spot at the Tamarack Flats area.
Campsite secure, we took off again to drive around and see the sights. Today is a drive-around day. We’re pretty tired from the lack of sleep.
JA really likes to take pictures out of the windshield. Still, pretty impressive view. This is back down in the valley – we’ve got to get some information for today and tomorrow before we do anything else.
Yosemite Falls in the distance. We’re hiking to the top of that tomorrow.
First things first. Coffee. Yes, they have modern facilities here. This is a Peet’s.
Half-Dome Village. The worst place to sleep in Yosemite.
We parked and took the bus to the visitor’s center. A lot easier than walking.
Gotta visit the Visitor’s Center first! They have a nice little bus system in the Valley area, which made it easier to get around quickly, rather than fight for parking spaces.
Another shot of Yosemite Falls while we’re playing up the tourist role.
Information gathered, we head back out of the valley and JA decides to take more pictures through the windshield. I really wanted to go down to the southern part of the park, Wawona & Mariposa Grove, where they have some big redwood trees, but that part was closed for restoration. So we decided to head north and visit some other places that were recommended.
I just love how most of this park seems to be massive amounts of rock with some stuff growing on it.
Olmsted Point! Great place to look out at the famous Half Dome.
You walk out onto that area and you can see Half Dome better than from where we are. Here are some people for reference. The rock itself is really grippy, which is pretty awesome after becoming used to the slick limestone in Texas.
Half Dome, off in the distance. We won’t visit it this trip, but it’ll be a have-to on the next visit.
I just love how this tree is growing in a crack. It’s not a trivial little sapling either.
A little panorama of the view from Olmsted’s parking lot.
This is our next stop. We’re somewhat high up in the park in terms of elevation – a lot higher than the Valley. This lake freezes every winter and water is added to it over the warmer months from snow melt. Tenaya Lake.
Unsurprisingly, lots of rock. There’s a nice shelf around the lake that you can walk out on. Lots of folks were in the water, so of course we threw on swimming stuff and decided to take a dip.
It’s super freaking cold. JA dared me to take the plunge. Pretty damn refreshing, but there’s no staying in too long. Apparently there are fish in this lake too, though the water is so clear and the bottom so clean you’d never know it. We were here for maybe an hour, drying off and enjoying a little downtime. Maybe we’ll come back to this spot after our big hike tomorrow. Still have the east side of the park to see though, so no more lingering.
Just another really neat rock feature. There were climbers on the other side. But again, somehow, a tree making growth on a rock no big deal. “Life, uh, finds a way.”
Our next stop is Pothole Dome at Tuolumne Meadows. We were told going to the top of this ‘little’ dome would give us a great view of the meadows and be a nice way to kind of adjust to the elevation.
Tuolumne Meadows.
We’re tired, but we’re still gonna hike.
Storm clouds! I love the rain! This whole area is freaking gorgeous.
Have I mentioned yet how cool it is that stuff just grows on rocks here? The dome is pretty steep, but pictures can’t really do it justice. They never do.
He was mouthing off to me. So I knocked him down.
I’m not that far behind JA here, probably only a few feet. It’s just that steep.
…they weren’t kidding about the view up here being stunning. And I’m not even up to the top yet.
Despite only having an hour or two of actual sleep, JA still finds the energy to do some minor rock climbing. Not me though. I’m hiking up the less-steep part.
Cathedral Peak and a few other domes in the distance.
JA beat me to the top.
Yup. Gorgeous views. I am pretty damn happy we drove all the way out here. This isn’t one of the major points of the park for most people to see. The guides at the visitor center did us a solid.
The rain in the distance looks so inviting…I hope it makes our way. But it’s getting late and it’s time to head down. We want to make it back to the campsite before dark so we can get dinner going and pass out early.
A little seam in the rock, probably about the width of a quarter at most. Just really cool. I have no idea how these are formed but this dome was covered in them.
Hiking down, hands in the pockets, like it’s no big deal.
One last beautiful shot of the meadows. I bet this place is stunning in the spring. Definitely worth a trip back to see.
After a stop at a store to pick up snacks and a couple hours of driving, we’re back at the campsite. Time to eat more, drink a little (because whiskey around a campfire is one of the best things in life), and then pass out. We’ve got an early morning and long day planned for our hike up to Yosemite Falls.
Back to Santa Cruz and Yosemite ::: On to Yosemite Day 2 Part 1