Yosemite!!

Sometime back in April our family took a road trip to a place we'd never been but had heard so much about. Yosemite. We are grateful to Ben and Rachel for inviting us to join them for this quick but unforgettable trip. We've loved our car but especially enjoyed it on this trip. The DVD player is a definite bonus. :)

First road stop to get gas just after the grapevine and heading in to the beautiful central valley. Uncle Randy was amazing. So aware and helpful. And fun.

For our first night, we stayed just outside the Yosemite area at a cabin in Bass Lake. The boys loved the private loft that became Randy's bedroom.

Our little section on Bass Lake

I wish you could read the sign in this shot, but it says, "Dock Closed. NO Trespassing." Kyle reads it and is adamant about following directions while Gavie hears Kyle and says, "Let's go under!" So typical of their personalities. :)

Rudy's first fishing spot of the morning.

We hit the jacuzzi the night before and then again in the morning. Somehow the heater had been turned off and this was a no-go!

As you can tell from the pic, we were a tad bit cold.

After arriving in Yosemite National Park, we stopped in to check out where our cabin would be. Rachel had won a 2 night stay in a cabin that just happened to be along a beautiful river. Lucky us that she invited us to join. We did some exploring before we could check in. Uncle Randy climbed this beast of a rock and slid down without a single scratch. Skillz.

From the deck of our cabin we could hear the river just past those trees.

Exploring...

From the little meadow looking up at the cabin.

90% of the time, this is what Gavin did with his beloved little, red car. He didn't take it out of his hands for anything, sleep or eat. I'm sure he enjoyed the nature...just not as much as he enjoyed that car! That's so Gavin, though.

After driving over 6 hours to get to this place, we couldn't sleep another night without at least seeing the beautiful valley... so we got in the car and drove the windiest 30 minutes to see some spectacular views. 

Uncle Randy and Kyle enjoyed a little hike here.

We drove through the famous tunnel...

...to see this...I can assure you, pictures just don't do it justice.

While checking out the view, Ben, Rachel and Elliot drove up! Perfect timing for a family photo.

Back at the cabin, Daddy caught a fish!! And we ate him, too.

Cousins!

We joined a tour bus to see the highlights from the valley floor. First stop was El Capitan, the largest single piece of granite rock in the world! It's 3,000 ft tall and amazing to think about climbers who take on this challenge (and even sleep hanging from the rock!). 

Loved seeing all this water and full water falls everywhere! The northern part of CA saw El Nino this year!!! 

Kyle was such a sweet big cousin to Elliot and helped entertain him on tour.

The tour inspired us to plan future camping trips with our bikes in tow in order to explore this incredible valley floor. Walking through the meadows and up to waterfalls was pretty ideal, just that our time was so short and the bus ride was sort of a tease.

Gavie and that car!

Half Dome 

Thank you family and Yosemite, for a beautiful trip. We will definitely be back.