Yosemite National Park

During our recent visit to California, we took a three-day trip north to Yosemite National Park, which none of us had ever been to. In the higher elevation, there were pockets of snow, something the Russell boys were not used to! This was a "snow play area" but to Mainers it was just a light dusting.

Our first hike, which was supposed to be a short one, turned out to be nearly six miles since the road was closed to vehicles. We weren't about to let a closed road stop us from seeing the giant Sequoias!

Stacy is quite the tree-hugger!

This is the Grizzly Giant, which is believed to be the oldest tree in the park and one of the oldest on Earth. It's also one of the biggest, as you can see!

Another famous tree in the Mariposa Grove at Yosemite was this tunnel tree. At one time, a car could drive through it.

Our second day of the park started with this "inspirational" view. On the left is El Capitan and in the middle, way in the background, is Half Dome. The waterfall at the left is Bridalveil Fall.

Once down on the valley floor, we took a short "hike" to get a closer look at Bridalveil Fall.

The boys, Colton (3.5) and Grady (20 months), were able to do this hike on their own, which was a nice relief for their parents!

In order to really see Yosemite, though, you have to do a real hike. We settled on the John Muir Trail, which took us a few thousand feet up to see waterfalls that weren't visible from the valley floor. We were captivated by this view of Vernal Falls.

On the descent, we broke the rules and came down the Mist Trail, which was technically closed due to the threat of ice and falling rocks. We encountered neither ...

... And if we went another way, we never would have captured this vista looking back up toward Vernal Falls.

Even though they weren't expert hikers, our adorable nephews were the best company we could ask for.

On our final day at Yosemite, we drove back down to the valley floor and did a short hike to the base of Yosemite Falls - a nice backdrop for a family portrait of the "California" Russells ...

... and the "Maine" Russells.

Yosemite exceeded all of our expectations. It was nice to cross another national park off our list!