September 22, 2016

After 3 fantastic days we started our long journey to Yosemite National Park – definitely my favourite of the scenic parts from our trip.
After spending the morning making the most of our Las Vegas pad, which included time at the pool and some lunch we finally departed at around 1.30pm – quite late for the fact that we had a long drive ahead – longer than we had predicted!

The drive from Vegas to our hotel which was just on the outskirts of Yosemite National Park in a place called Fish Camp took us 8 hours, so with a petrol and food stop along the way it meant we arrived at our hotel at 10pm – a big big day!  Our hotel was Tenaya Lodge and we had a deluxe room with 2 queen beds and a roll away.  The room was like your traditional style room so really only room to walk around the beds but was it was a really lovely hotel that I would recommend.  They had a couple of restaurants and a little snack shop, 2 pools (indoor and outdoor) and loads of extra things for the kids to do.  We did archery one day but there were also mountain bikes for hire and a rock climbing wall.

After a good nights sleep we were up bright and early the next morning for day one of our trip into the park!  Yosemite National Park is a huge place and the drive from the main entrance to the main floor of the park is a good hour.  The drive is beautiful though and we saw a number of deer on the way!

The first major tourist stop while driving in is called Tunnel View.  After traveling through a long tunnel you arrive to some magical scenery and your first glimpse at the postcard perfect Yosemite!  
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 June was a brilliant time to visit as all the waterfalls are still in full flow!  By September most have dried up until after the winter. Some proved to be a welcome relief after hiking to the bottom and being sprayed by the cool water!  Once in the main part of the park we stopped regularly in the car to see the scenery.  The road is easy to travel along with plenty of places to stop.  We did a few hikes and and had lunch in one of the cafe’s  The other cool thing we did see was a bear!  He was just wandering through the forest – the rangers were close by keep tabs on him so he didn’t come near the tourists!

Here are some of my favourite photos from day 1

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On day 2 we took a different drive into the park.  This time we headed to Glacier Point where we could view everything from up above!  Again this was spectacular and so worth the trip.  The drive was not as long as day one and the walk once in was short and easy.

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On our final day as we left the park we headed to an area that had the giant sequoia trees.  The size of these trees is really incredible.  We did a bush walk on a marked trail that gave the age and history of the giant trees which was fascinating.  I must say our time in this part of California was one of my favourites and a must if you there in summer or spring.  We had three nights at Tenaya lodge and for our family this was perfect!  

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Yosemite from Leanne Ambrogio on Vimeo.