June 9th, 2010 – Yosemite National Park – East

June 9th – Day of driving which turned into hiking in snow!

We decided to go to Yosemite National Park, since Scott hadn’t been there since he was about Brittany’s age.  We took all 2 lane roads to get there instead of the freeway, so that we could go a different way to California.  I had no idea that going out SR 56 (and then taking other highways along the way) would lead us through Nevada, and to California!  It took us about 7 1/2 hours and we were supposed to just go to the hotel.  But, we left too early from Utah, that we got there in early afternoon, so Scott decided to go into Yosemite today!

Well, we went in on Tioga Road, which had just opened 4 days before we started our trip. The Tioga Road is the highest auto pass in the Sierras, peaking at just under 10,000 feet, and is usually closed from sometime in November until May or early June.  Along Tioga Road, we were going to visit Tuolumne Meadows, but it was still melting out with huge puddles everywhere, and no grass or pretty flowers anywhere.  So we continued on, and stopped at Tenaya Lake, which was still mostly frozen.  We found the whole east side of Yosemite was still melting from snow, so there was snow piled up on the side of the road, and runoffs into the road everywhere on this side of the park.

We stopped at Olmsted Point, and found that there was a hike here.  We weren’t supposed to be hiking today, so the kids and I were in flip-flops, not exactly hiking gear.  It was supposed to a short trail, but it ended up being covered in snow.  We definitely got some weird looks along the hike, as we saw people in snow boots with ski poles, and bundled up like it was the middle of winter, and we were in shorts, short-sleeve shirts, and flip-flops.  Scott went hiking ahead of us, I think he was embarrassed to be seen with us, but Brittany kept right up with him, and Cole was sweet and stayed back with the slow pregnant lady who was afraid of falling in the slippery melting snow.  We all made it to the lookout point, and it was a beautiful sight to see.  We saw Half Dome, Clouds Rest and Tenaya Lake all from this point.

After Olmsted Point, we visited Lembert Dome, but didn’t do the hike, we just walked a bit up the mountain, sat down, and took in the views.  It was very serene and peaceful, that is, until the kids and dad started throwing small pieces of sticks at each other.  Before heading to our hotel, we stopped in at the gas station right outside Yosemite East, but this wasn’t just any gas station, it’s known for the quality of the food served at its Whoa Nellie Deli, which serves everything from grilled salmon to fish tacos and hamburgers.

We have 3 albums in the gallery from Yosemite, split up into each day we hiked.  There are also 3 blog posts, one for each day we spent in Yosemite National Park.

June 10th blog post – Yosemite North & Valley
June 11th blog post – Yosemite Valley & Mariposa Grove
Yosemite National Park – East album
Yosemite National Park – North & Valley album
Yosemite National Park – Valley & Mariposa Grove album