Day 3 - Yosemite Valley

We spent day 3 of our road trip exploring Yosemite Valley.  The forecast showed rain starting late morning, so we thought it would be best to get up very early and see as much as possible before the rain.  Little did we know, getting to the Valley early was the best thing we could have done.  We were actually able to find a parking spot for our huge van and take a hike to see the lower falls before it got super crowded.  By mid-morning, the weather was still beautiful, and the Valley was full of people.  We stopped at the welcome center for what we thought was a quick snack...which not surprisingly turned into our lunch...before waiting forever for a shuttle with space to get to the trail to hike to Mirror Lake.

We had to split up to fit on the shuttle, so Craig and Pookie took the kids and we followed.  When we finally made it to shuttle stop #17 for Mirror Lake/Half Dome, we found the kids practicing yoga poses on a rock...it was hilarious!  I don't think Carter knew anything about yoga, until Grant taught her!  (When we got home, I ordered the cutest shirts for me and the girls with a bear doing yoga in Yosemite...cannot wait until it cools off to wear them!)

The hike to Mirror Lake was so fun, and the scenery was magnificent.  Carter eventually got tired, and Craig had to carry her while she napped.  The rocks on the trail were a tad slick...woohoo for hiking shoes...but we all made it without anyone falling...or peeing in their pants!  haha.  We did have a close call when Grandad Mike let out a series of loud farts while passing by another family, but a quick maneuver of crossing the legs and bending over saved the day!

The rain started around the time we finished our hike, so we rode the shuttle back to the main area where we waited for a different shuttle to see El Capitan.  At that point, our good fortune had basically run out.  In hindsight, we should have just left Yosemite Valley and snapped our pictures of El Cap on the way out, but we didn't, and therefore spent way too much time standing in the rain waiting for our shuttle to return and way too much time on the shuttle trying to get to our van because of way too much traffic.  

To say we were all tired and "hangry" by the time we left, would be an understatement.  I think we all deserve a pass for anything we said or did trying to get back to Mariposa to have dinner...myself included...sorry Amma!  haha.  Our feast of burgers, fries and milkshakes was just what we all needed after a very full day.