Friday September 26th was our longest day! We planned to go to Yosemite National Park. We were so tired from Disneyland, but knew we could not miss out on seeing it. So we reluctantly set the alarm and got up at 6am in order to be out of the hotel by 7:30. We did make a stop at a gas station and a grocery store to buy our food for the day and then we were off. Actually that was our routine every morning of the trip. No matter how full the tank was we always topped off in the morning. We only had to fill up for gas at night once...it was on this particular leg of the journey!
The open road!
It's about a 2 hour drive from Fresno to Yosemite. It's a really nice drive and thankfully I was able to find a Christian radio station while the kids enjoyed watching a movie!
Our first stop in Yosemite was Glacier Point. This picture is actually on the drive up. Right after I took this we drove a little further up and went into a seriously thick fog bank. We were so bummed! We had the little map they give you and we'd seen pictures of what the view is like from Glacier Point and now it was all fogged in. We thought about turning back, but we stuck it out and figured we'd come this far we might as well get to the top and at least have a nice hike to stretch our legs.
It was pretty foggy when we got to the top, but the kids didn't care at all! There were so many cool rocks to climb on they were in heaven!
My 4 Beautiful Blessings!
She is so cute!
The kids wanted to get as high as they could. I love letting them test their limits and see what their bodies can do, but that doesn't mean my heart doesn't pound while they're doing it!
Cute cheeser boy!
After a little while the clouds started to dissipate and reveal the beauty around us!
Getting the kids to sit down for this picture it was like trying to herd cats!
Clouds are finally gone...that huge mountain over there is called Half Dome. I can't remember the exact year, but some guy back in the 1800's said that no man would trod on it and just a decade or so later a guy made it to the top...in the 1800's! I also read that climbing Half Dome really changed the way the climbing is done today. Just goes to show you....don't tell us we can't, because we will!
I don't know the name of this falls, but I had to zoom really far to get a picture of it!
Once the fog cleared we just sat on this rock wall and checked out the gorgeous scenery and ate a snack. That's when we got company!
I know I know...don't feel the wild life! He was so cute though...he literally took a grape right out of my hand. His little claws were so gentle!
At least we didn't feed him french fries or something it was just grapes!
I love the panoramic feature on my phone! Gorgeous!
Shortly after this we decided to head down to the Yosemite Valley, but first we went into the gift shop. I got the kids each a soap stone animal. I found Ella a squirrel, Jack a Hawk, Owen a Hawk and Zeke a Bear. It was fine until Owen decided he wanted the bear and then Zeke gave it to him just thinking he wanted to trade for a minute. Then Zeke of course wanted his bear back and it was all downhill from there. Owen ended up with nothing and I wasn't the only one that was driven to the brink by him! This time it was Michael's turn to have a meltdown. I'd say one meltdown for each of us was really good for an 11 day road trip with 4 kids!!!
This was down in Yosemite Valley. Of course pictures don't do it justice at all. The shear magnitude and size of these rocks are crazy. They are so beautiful!
We were driving along following this river...probably called Yosemite River and we decided to get out and let the kids throw rocks in the river. We just happened to park next to this huge flat rock that was perfect to have a picnic on. It was so fun! It was quite cold with the wind rushing through the valley, but it was totally worth it being surrounded by all that gorgeous scenery.
Chowing down on our lunch of Ritz crackers, pepperoni, turkey, sharp cheese, Sun Chips and sugar snap peas.
Owen and Jack had fun climbing and jumping on the rocks.
We were going to get out and hike around, but the parking lot was packed and it was getting late and we still had a 5 hour drive ahead of us.
This picture is actually missing something. Yosemite Falls is supposed to be right in the middle of it. The darker area on the rock in the middle is where the falls usually is. It's been crazy dry and California is having a bunch of water issues so the falls was completely dry. This is the same falls that is shown on the Sourin' Over California ride at California Adventure.
Like I said this was the longest day...there is no real direct route to I-5 going north from Yosemite. It was hours of country back roads and it was the worse part of the trip for me. First it felt like we were going no where and second the roads were so bouncy I couldn't crochet! I was so happy to see the Interstate....I kind of sound like Lightning McQueen there!
Anyways after going through Sacramento during rush hour we made it a little north and ate at the last fast food restaurant of the trip. MCD's of course. Mainly because it had an indoor playarea. The kids had been cooped up in the car all day and they desperately needed to get some energy out!
Being that we were out of town guests we didn't really know where the bad areas were, but after being at this MCD's for about an hour we realized that it wasn't in the best of neighborhoods.
Still it served it's purpose for the kids and before long we were on the road again!
This night we didn't get to the hotel until 8:30pm and we were so tired. Of course Owen was hoping to go in the pool, but again it was an outdoor pool. Poor guy! This was the best hotel though besides the one in Anaheim. It was a Best Western and now no matter what we will be staying at Best Westerns whenever we can. We literally were there for less than 12 hours, but it was great. The beds were comfy, the room was big and clean and the continental breakfast was the best.
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