On the Road to Yosemite!

Well, internet access has been spotty for the last few days.  While Yosemite did have WiFi, a funny thing happens when 2 million people try to use it at once.  :)  And by "funny thing" I mean, nothing at all happens.

So, let me back up this cliff hanger of a story...

We pulled into Lee Vining.  It was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it-oh-so-charming kind of place.  A place to read books, sit on the patio and watch sunrises and eat ice bream.  Oh so lovely.  That night we went out to grab a bite and at one point Nick's cell phone (a flip phone) dropped on the floor.  Someone saw it and pointed it out and the waiter bent down to pick it up.  I mentioned that he still hadn't made the switch to a smart phone... to which the waiter replied, "Yeah... I thought that might have been sitting down there for 14 years."  lol.  Hilarious.

The next morning we grabbed breakfast in the coffee shop that was also our Inn.  I had the best best breakfast sandwich known to man kind.  Fresh baked focaccia, avocado, sprouts, bacon, aioli, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

As we sat and waited there was a guy with long white hair and a long white beard.  He spends half his time in India and half in California.  He regaled us with tales about his travels, work and getting into various version of National Geographic.  You never have a boring conversation on travel.

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking...

Mel - if you're reading this, I thought this would be adorable at your house.  :)

Coming into Yosemite park.  Small line to the left is the road.

Look how clear that water is.  :)  Beautiful.  But as they tell you... don't drink it.  A raccoon MAY have peed it in at some point.

A little more beauty on the way in.  Still snow in the mountains and lots of water to behold.

Took a short hike up Olmsted Point.  Very short hike, but a scramble up the rock put us square in front of half dome.  It's the point in the dead center of the picture.  Nick came to climb it about 5 years ago, but it the poles were down up the peak due to there still being snow on the dome - it was June 17th!  Crazy.

View of the valley.  The place we stayed is somewhere in those trees.  El Capitan is the sheer to the left - climbers climb up the front shown here... I still can't fathom.  They actually sleep on it as well, as Nick has mentioned, there are ledges big enough to park a bus on... but I still don't understand it.  Half Dome is peaking through the center again.

Lower Yosemite Falls.