Woke up in Yosemite not knowing any of our layout since we arrived well after sunset. We were lucky to find our room...signage not so good at the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls. The good news about visiting national parks in the fall -- not as many families with kids, less tourists. The bad news about visiting Yosemite in the fall...most of the waterfalls are dried up. So the view out our window of the falls was of where the falls would be if there was water!! No hot water for showers either -- others had hogged it all -- so we dressed and headed for breakfast. We figured we'd get hot and sweaty hiking anyway. :-)
Only it was COLD. Like 40 degrees cold. After breakfast we headed to the little gift shop where we bought a couple of long sleeved t-shirts and a jacket. We didn't overpack enough for this trip. We headed to the visitor's center to get our park map, and headed off on our first hike. We did a 3 1/2 mile hike which offered "stunning views of Half Dome, Glacier Point and the Royal Arches." No cardio as the path was paved and mostly flat. The scenery was beautiful though!
We drove to Glacier Point afterward -- while it's only about 22 miles from the valley floor to Glacier Point, it takes you a good hour. The road climbs out of the valley up some hairpin turns. We stopped off to view Bridalveil Fall -- a short hike from the parking lot up to view the falls. Overheard in the parking lot "I saw more water in my shower this morning." Apparently the fall is HUGE in the springtime. Not so big in the fall. Continuing to the Glacier Point parking lot, there's a short hike (1 mile?) downhill to the lookout at Glacier Point (meaning uphill on the way back) and the view is stunning. We headed back to the valley for much-needed showers, followed by a delicious dinner at the Ahwahnee Hotel. I wish I'd brought my camera there -- it was beautiful, romantic and reminded me a bit of the dining hall at Hogwarts (Harry Potter).
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