Yosemite National Park Day 1

The whole week, I checked the weather conditions religiously in Yosemite National Park. Snow was predicted for the weekend that we planned to go, and we did not want to be fighting snow, ice, and putting on snow chains on the car. As the week progressed, the snow moved to Thursday and Friday, leaving the weekend clear. The temperatures were still chilly--19 degrees low, about 34 degrees high. However, we were about to discover that it was much warmer than had been forecasted, and we were in for a weekend of true natural splendor.

We set off Saturday morning for an uneventful drive down to the park. We listened to a playlist of the hit 2010's songs until we ran out of service. As we drove into the park, we stopped at various vista points, getting our first glimpses of the Merced River and the expansiveness of the valley.

We then stopped at the famous Tunnel View, which is the most breath-taking overview of the valley below, with stunning clarity of El Capitan, Half Dome, and Yosemite Falls. 

After getting our fill of the view from the Vista Point, we decided to seek out the view from an even higher altitude, embarking on our first hike of the trip to Inspiration Point. On the way up, we did see the truly stunning views of the Tunnel View below, with the tops of the trees giving an idea of just how tall those slabs of granite are. As we progressed hire, we hit some snow and ice. I grabbed two branches, and used those to help us navigate some slick parts. When we reached the end of the trail--Inspiration Point was NOT inspiring! There were NO views of the valley below--only an open expanse covered in snow. We were a little disappointed to be honest and found out after later research on the internet that we are not the only ones that have been fooled by this hike. So, we trekked back down, and appreciated the views that were the most spectacular halfway up the trail :D 

Nick and I then drove into the Yosemite Valley for the first time, and checked out the various views of El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, and the Yosemite Chapel. We then headed to hike up to Lower Yosemite Falls.

We walked up the paved path to Lowe Yosemite Falls. Nick also bouldered his way up all the way up to the base of the waterfall. He had a great time getting misted on and being so up close. 

After the waterfall, we decided it was time to head out of the park, as it would take about an hour and a half to drive to the Best Western that we were staying at. We did take a few pictures with our tripod as we were popping out of the park. We were right up close to a herd of deer, who didn't flinch once that we were so close to them. 

Once we checked into our hotel, we ordered take-out Chinese next door, and they gave us so much it became our dinner both nights that we were there! We zonked out quickly, ready to get up for another exciting and awe-inspiring day!