Yosemite National Park

On May 1st we began what I consider our start to visiting the north western US national parks. Our first park visit was Yosemite National Park and we stayed on the south side of the park, in the town of Coarsegold, at an Escapees Park called Park of the Sierras. It is a nice park in the sierra mountains that is run by escapee members who are very friendly. We played pickleball once and went to a potluck dinner for Cinco de Mayo. The second night we went to the Coarsegold Rodeo. It was a 2 day event that really made us appreciate how big and elite the Houston Rodeo is. We browsed the vendor tents, bought large cans of local beer and watched probably 3/4th of the rodeo. Most of the participants couldn’t finish their event, which is what made us realize how elite the cowboys are that make it to HLSR. It was fun to participate in a small local event. The next day we visited Dorval Estate Winery. The wine tasting was very laid back with a flight of wine that we enjoyed at our own pace. We sat outside and watched kids chase the chickens that roamed the property! On May 4th we drove to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in Yosemite NP. It was a bit drizzly and foggy but a smooth hike with incredibly large and interesting Sequoia trees. The fog gave the hike a different vibe that turned out to be awesome as shown in the pictures. We walked past several fallen trees that displayed the massive width of the tree, plus enormous trees hundreds of years old. We waited a day for the weather to clear up and on May 6 drove another hour into the park to hike the Mist and John Muir trails to see the 317 foot Vernal Fall and the 594 foot Nevada Fall. We went at an optimal time in spring when the water was strong from the snow melt; the Merced River and waterfalls were both flowing rapidly. The views were stunning with the mountains all around and rushing water from the falls and river. After hiking to the top of Vernal Falls we continued on and came to the top of Nevada Falls and from there we began our decline back down. The hike was the most difficult one we’ve done to date, the combined elevation and stair climb was very steep going up to the top of Vernal Falls and to Nevada Falls. After that it was all downhill and we saw great views of Half Dome.
On the drive back we stopped at Tunnel View for a picturesque view of El Capitan, Half Dome, Bridalview Fall and Cathedral Rocks.Read more