Yosemite

It has been a few weeks but my family and I did go to Yosemite tent camping. We stayed just outside the valley which was hard enough to reserve a spot for on a Monday through Wednesday. I was a little worried  on the first day when we are all getting used to being dirty. Once we got over being dirty I that the experience went much better. We did not see any bears or mountain lions but I was definitely ready to see them. They have metal bear boxes there at the camp sites to put all of your food and toiletries in. They do have bathrooms but just for hand and face washing. No extensive washing is allowed. We had a fire each night and morning which added to the excitement of each day.

The first day that we got there we set of camp and set off to do some hiking around. We saw a nature center and the views in the valley were more than breathtaking. I was taken back by the majestic beauty of these large mountains. It was also strange to be in California and feel like you were a minority to be from the United States. There were European people everywhere. We were pretty wasted after the first day of hiking around and carrying my youngest on my back.

The next day we were all tired and so we went to a central part of the park in search for museums and an art class for the girls. The sad thing was that eventually found out that the art class was completely booked out and it took all morning to do this. The afternoon was filled with wading and swimming in a nearby river where both the wife and I fell in. The rocks were extremely slippery and difficult to traverse. The wife got a huge bruise on her backside from falling. I felt bad as it was my idea to cross the river. I don't know that I would have crossed when I later heard on the news that two boys got carried away in the current and both died. They were on a day hike with their church.

The nights were hard as we tried to really hard to keep the tent and the kids as clean as possible. Plus, we forgot to bring a boom box which was a mistake. Luckily, we had my phone playing Les Miserables to create the right sleeping environment.

This really was a wonderful trip and I wish it could have lasted an entire week, but perhaps I would have been too burned out by then.