Yosemite

Steve and I recently went to Yosemite National Park while my parents stayed at home with the kids. We spent the first day and night in "the village" which is the touristy part of the park, with drive-in campsites, cafes, and hotels. It was still very beautiful and we were glad it was off-season and a bit less crowded than in summer. 

The next day we hiked about 3 hours, all uphill, to get to a more remote campsite. Here is Steve using our filter to get some water from the nearby Merced River.

The hour before this peaceful moment at the river was somewhat less peaceful... we had just set up our tent when I decided to turn on my cell phone and see if there happened to be a signal. There was just enough signal for me to receive a text from my neighbour, sent the evening before, saying "are you okay? I see a fire truck and ambulance outside your house...". As soon as I read the text, the signal was gone. After some tears and speculating about what could have possibly prompted my very capable parents to have to call 911, we quickly decided to pack up and head back down the mountain to look for a signal to call home. After a few minutes I decided to start asking other hikers if they had any cell service. Thankfully, one energetic and empathetic young guy decided to scamper up a cliffside to get high enough for a signal. Steve and I followed him and I was able to reach my mom at home. It turned out that Ross had gotten his finger stuck in a small metal hole in our old kitchen table. My parents weren't able to get it out with olive oil and as the finger swelled and both children screamed, they wisely decided to call 911. The firefighters were able to free his finger with a packet of vaseline within a few minutes, and then showered both kids with firefighter hats, coloring books, and stickers. Needless to say, Steve and I were very thankful to hear all this. We shared the somewhat funny story with all the hikers who had helped us make the phone call, and then headed back to set up our tent again.

We did a day hike the following day to Clouds Rest, with a beautiful view of Half Dome in the background.

A dusting of snow was just starting to cover distant mountain tops.

Here we are with Yosemite Valley in the background.

Our tent among the pine trees at Little Yosemite Valley camp.

Our cooking stump...

This campsite is popular enough that they provide bear bins throughout. The large metal cabinets are meant to hold everything edible or scented, and although we never saw any bears, they are apparently quite common in that area.

The almost-full moon rising on our last night...