Why Stay at Home and Bicker with Your Family...

Nick quipped as we walked through the park, "Why stay at home and bicker with your family when you can come to a national park and bicker with your family."  Needless to say, there were lots of families and lots of kids and a goodly amount of bickering.  :)  Nick heard several father's saying to kids more than once, "Get up!  You're fine!  Get moving."  Sometimes it wasn't in English, but we still knew what it meant.

We stayed in the park for two nights in tent/cabins.  They're a hybrid that basically is a tarp nailed to a frame.  You know the kind of thing that a bear could rip through, but could trap a human.  You know... those type of things.  It had one light.  No air.  No plugins. But it did have a safe. lol.   So... here's a bit of the journey the past few days.

06/30
After the adventures from the previous post Nick was still a bit wore down from being sick and laid in the 3000 degree tent trying to rest.  Yosemite had a theater area outside where I listened to a park ranger tell horror stories of people who died or had been rescued from various predicaments in the park.  Water is the number one killer.  The rocks are slick and the water can look peaceful in one spot but have a current that takes you quickly to rapids.

06/30
10:30pm - I headed to the hot box and tried to sleep.

11:00pm - a boy gets trapped in one of the few single stall bathrooms, which happens to be right outside our tent.  As he stands on the back of the toilet, Nick and I try to coach him through the locks in the bathroom from our tent while his uncle gets a maintenance guy.  

11:30pm - the maintenance guy arrives and inserts approximately 300 keys into the lock, but none of them work. Nick and I can't quit laughing.

12:00pm - the maintenance guy asks the kid if he's tried turning the handle (which of course he had roughly 4000 times by now).  We can't quit laughing.

12:30pm - boy is freed from the restroom.

12:35pm - man in tent 2 feet behind us won't stop talking as loud as possible.  We can't quit laughing.

07/01
3:00am - wake up freezing

6:00am - new maintenance man returns to bathroom to try and fix the lock.  Swears profusely every time he tries something.  Over here him from our cabin saying "there's another new problem!"  More swearing and drilling.  Nick and I are laughing hysterically.  You know that laughing you do when it's inappropriate, but you can't get it under control.

6:30am - man in tent two feet behind us recounts his weird dream to his silent, maybe imaginary roommate.  Can't. Quit. Laughing.

7:30am - Hit the canteen for breakfast, chased the bus down to take us to our hike.

8:30am - arrive at trail head for an epic painful beautiful waterfall hike.  There are some things you can only see if you work for them AND pay for them.  They're painful and they're not for everyone.

Start of our hike. Merced River.

Look at those boulders.  Humans come up about 1/2 way.

Headed up!

Climbing the steps to Vernal Falls.  It was killer.

 

See the mist.  It was like hiking in rain.

Lots of rainbows along the way!

Vernal Falls - 1st one.  Eerie seeing the water go over the side.  I couldn't watch for long.  Made my stomach queezy.

On to the 2nd Falls - Nevada Falls

Rocking the knee brace and the walking polls!

Top of Nevada Falls.  Again... couldn't watch too long... look how tiny those people are!!!!

Nick looks like he's suppose to be here.  I look like my skin should never see the light of day.

Headed back down John Muir trail.  Looking back on Nevada Falls.

After we got cleaned up and had supper, headed back up to the Tunnel overlook.  Beautiful view of the valley at sunset.  El Capitan, Half Dome and Bridal Falls visible.

Tent we stayed in.  Bear box where all food and toiletries have to be kept.

07/02 - Headed out of Yosemite

Final stop at Glacier Point on the way out today.  Half Dome is the star in this picture.