Yosemite

Our family just returned from our first trip to Yosemite National Park. We had a great time camping in the North Pines campground with our family and friends. We had quite a group with 13 kids between our 4 families, ranging from about 5 weeks to 9 years. Our campsite was beautiful with a view of Upper Yosemite Falls over our tent and a gentle river behind our campsites. We played in the river and around the campsite the first evening. Tuesday we rode a shuttle bus in the morning from the campsites to Lower Yosemite Falls. We hiked a half mile up to the falls and climbed around on the boulders, rocks and in the icy water. In the late afternoon, most of us hiked a mile up to Mirror Lake, which wasn't much of a lake with the dry year. It was still beautiful and the men we able to make it worth the hike after they found a good jumping boulder. We closed the day with a delicious dutch oven dinner and a campfire. After packing up Wednesday morning our family toured the visitors center, small museum and Indian Village. We drove over and hiked around Bridalveil Falls before heading for home. It was a great trip! At just under 4 hours from here, I hope we can return in the future.