Yosemite was nothing short of spectacular.  No suspense here — we loved it.  And that’s even without most of the waterfalls running.  This is the first place we have visited where we have declared that we are definitely coming back….we’re looking at spring or summer of 2021 so that we can experience the park when all the water is here.  Of course, that time of year will also mean that we will have to fight our way through the masses of visitors that come each year — we definitely recognize that part of what we loved about this park is that we saw all the sights without being crowded or having to fight for a parking spot.   

Our first day in the park we headed for Glacier Point.  Joe and Sally had let us know it was a “MUST DO”.  We stopped on the way up for the overlook that Ansel Adams made famous with his iconic picture of El Capitan and Half Dome, Tunnel View.  We took a tip from our “secrets” guidebook and climbed up the path a bit to lose the crowds so we could ogle in peace and also try out Dennis’s new spotting scope he’d gotten for his birthday.  The view was as impressive as promised, but honestly at this point I don’t think we had the appreciation for what we were looking at that we gained over the next few days.  

We traveled on to Glacier Point and were indeed rewarded with a view that basically looked down and over the Yosemite Valley.  Again we used the spotting scope, and were able to see the upper and lower Yosemite Falls (mostly dry), and Nevada Falls, including zooming in and seeing hikers cross over the top.  We got the obligatory family pic, and a stunt pic that made it look like we were on the edge of the earth.  We also learned from the exhibit an amazing fact — thousands of years earlier the glaciers were high enough to almost cover Half Dome!  As they moved, they shaved off all the weaker rock, leaving the granite faces that makes the park so famous, and left the trench that is the Valley.  

From there we came back down just a bit and started off on a loop hike that was a bit over 5 miles and included Sentinel Dome and Taft Peak…two features that were each incredible enough to be a satisfying destination on their own.  Together though they made a hike that is one of the top 3 we’ve done so far (others: Highline in Glacier and Skyline in Rainier).  Sentinel Dome is a bald granite dome that looks like it will be an extremely hard climb as you are approaching it.  Luckily, the path takes you around to the back side and makes it a very doable summit.  From the top you have unobstructed 360 degree view of all the best of Yosemite:  El Cap, Cathedral Rocks, Clouds Rest, Half Dome and any of the waterfalls that are running.  It’s a huge dome with a slight curve that you can walk all over and we stopped to have a picnic lunch crouched behind a rock point that made for a good windbreak.  

After lunch we continued through the forested trail along ridges that gave more terrific view points until we got to Taft Peak.  Being on top of Sentinel Dome did not scare me.  It was very high up with lots of wind, but there was a wide plateau on top and the sides sloped down gradually so you never felt like you could fall off any steep edges.   Taft Peak was terrifying in comparison.  First off, the entire area is edged with sheer cliffs dropping straight down.  Second, there are 2000 foot deep fissures in the rock as you get close to the peak.  These are basically seams in the granite that are vertical cracks in the edge of the cliff…some of them are only 2 feet across, but when you look down in them, they just go down, down, down.  There are multiple signs telling you that people can, and do, fall to their death.  Just to make things even more terrifying, you can hike up to the very tip of the sheer cliff and look over, down about 3000 feet.  They have installed a small railing around a 6 foot wide section, but it only took about a 5 second look for me to feel like I’d seen all I needed to see from that spot.   

That evening we all piled in bed together and watched Free Solo, the documentary that won an Academy Award telling the story of Alex Honnold and his attempt to climb the face of Yosemite with NO ROPES or any other safety devices.  Just watching the movie caused all of us to sweat.  We literally had sweaty palms and feet…Maya and I had to take our socks off even.  I just can’t even imagine what motivates a person to climb a 2700 foot tall sheer cliff.  I wouldn’t even want to climb a ladder up that face without some kind of harness.  But, it really made our stay in Yosemite more interesting…to look up at the climbers and the rock face and think about what we’d seen in the movie.  

After our hike and time at the top of the park the previous day, we returned to Yosemite the next morning to see the valley from the bottom.  We set off on a 12+ mile hike that went through the valley floor right past El Capitan and Bridal Veil Falls, which is one of the waterfalls that runs year round.  We weren’t even a mile into the hike and as we got past Camp 4, which is known as the climbers’ camp, we saw a man and two kids coming our way on the path.  Dennis, who can recognize minor people from any sports team or movie, stopped him and said “hey, were you in Free Solo?”  Ha, it turns out that it was one of Alex’s best friends from the movie.  He was out with his kids bouldering.  We didn’t pester him too much, but did share that we’d just watched the movie the night prior.  He was impressed. (smirk).

Our hike took the whole day and we wandered along the river that goes along the valley, coming right up under El Capitan and staring up the face.  We could spot climbers at various points on the wall, just barely visible with the naked eye.  The hike came back through the valley to the area where John Muir and Roosevelt camped and discussed the idea of a national park system.  Dennis has been on a spree reading books about Teddy Roosevelt so it was neat to be in that place and think about the impact that conversation had on our country.  At about the 8 mile mark we stood under Bridal Veil Falls and watched the fall of water and the spray as it was pushed left and the right by the wind.   

Dennis and I were certain that the leaves were turning yellow in the forest before our very eyes.  It was as though we came at the absolute perfect point in fall to be able to see the season lay in.

By the time we finished our hike, we had done 21 miles in two days.  The first day was hills and challenging due to the elevation change.  The second day (15+ miles) was challenging just because it was so long… It was pretty darn flat, but 7 hours of constant hiking will wear anyone out!  

After all that work, we were rewarded in a magical way.  On the way out of the park, I happened to look back over my shoulder for one last glimpse of Bridal Veil Falls.  What I saw caused me to start shrieking at Dennis to “pull over, pull over, turn around, we have to go back!”  Well, we were on a one way loop so turning around meant a 15 minute loop, but he obliged.  Turns out that every day when the sun hits the perfect point, the entire waterfall turns into a rainbow.  Not just a rainbow in the spray of the waterfall….no. The ENTIRE rainbow top to bottom is a rainbow column.  I had never seen anything like it.  By the time we got back around it had faded a bit, but was still so cool to see.  Unfortunately we couldn’t get a photo that truly captured it, but it’s pretty clear in my mind.

Our final day in Yosemite was a bit of a luxury.  We had already seen some great things in the previous two days of strenuous hiking and decided to just “hang out” and do some fun things in the village.  Maya and Dennis headed out of the Ansel Adams gallery with one of their resident photographers for a camera walk, while Wyatt and I looked at some exhibits and got some coffee and treats.  I love all being together as a family, but it’s also really nice in the moments where we pair off and get to hang with one of the kids.  I know Dennis feels the same and loved sharing the photo experience with Maya.

In the past few parks we’ve gone to we’ve added “watch the park movie” to our list of requirements.  Surprisingly, it’s been Wyatt who started asking to watch the movie at each park, once we saw a few.  They have all been great overviews of the history of the park, including the geological events that may have shaped it, the native peoples, the animals, and the modern history of the land.  It’s stuff that you might read on signs or in the maps they give you, but being able to see a movie overviewing it and then going out and seeing with your own eyes while we read the signs along the way has turned out to be a good way to really absorb what the park is all about.  Yosemite, of course, had TWO movies to watch so we watched them both.  One was all about John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt, done by Ken Burns…who Dennis ALSO has a man crush on.  So, he really hit the jackpot.

Our final little excursion in the park was to ride our bikes from the village through the valley in the opposite direction as our hike the previous day.  This path took us to Mirror Lake, under Half Dome.  The lake is actually dried up, so was more like a giant sandbox, but the kids were happy to play there anyway.  The bike ride was pretty much ideal….bright, sunny fall weather on a nice bike path under Half Dome.  It was the perfect way to top off three glorious days in Yosemite. 

We didn’t see near enough of Yosemite to feel like we’ve “seen it”, but we did see enough to feel like we got a great sampling.  And we certainly saw enough to know that we will be coming back at some point in the future to experience more of the park, in a different season.