Yosemite has been a bucket list item for a very, very long time, and my husband let me make a tent cabin reservation for before my birthday. It was an ADVENTURE!
Weather forecast: high in the 70s, lows in the 40s.
Reality: (see picture)
Yes, that is snow! That is the Upper Yosemite Falls in the background. While it was snowing.
Reality: High of 40s, lows in the low 20s.
I loved it. The husband was not impressed with the temperature, but he also had a good time.
So now that I have set the stage for the temperature portion of the trip, I shall go to the very beginning… the trip to Yosemite! Squee!!
Honestly, the first picture of the trip was this asshat. Why did I take this picture? I took this picture because this asshat was drinking and driving, and I needed to see the license plate to call the police and report his drunk driving ass.
I excluded the license plate, but you know it’s going to be an interesting trip when you’re within 30 minutes of home and you’re on the phone with 911 reporting in a drunk driver.
The anxiety attack resulting took about forty minutes to settle, but when I hung up with the cops, highway patrol was headed for the highway to try to find the fucker before he got somebody killed.
Drink or Drive. Do not do both. Pick one or the other. This is never an ‘and’ situation.
In good news, our Silverado was bigger, my husband spotted the driver early, and he slowed to keep the asshat in front of us until we could get over several lanes to pass safely. We basically served as a blockade to prevent someone from getting too close and as a warning there was a hazard ahead.
People pay attention when a Big Blue Pickup starts going waaayyy slow and brake tapping.
The smart people on the highway cleared the lane beside and behind him, opting to make use of the fast lane until to general safety.
You know it’s bad when the Californians start driving like they actually are aware how speed limits and traffic safety work…
Anyway, we survived that! But it was definitely the first time I called 911 to report a drunk driver. And boy was that nitwit drunk.
Cotton candy cloud days make me really happy. This is the route that takes us to Casa de Fruta, one of my favorite pit stops! I got dried fruit, garlic stuffed olives, pistachios! Husbutt got some fancy beer.
We managed to spend a ridiculous amount at the fruit stand, because snaks!
The above picture does an excellent job of showcasing why I love the little stretch of California I call home. This landscape just makes me happy.
This stretch of California also makes me very appreciative of pretty trees. We have trees, but they’re not like the east coast trees in a lot of ways, so I always get happy when I see trees like these ones.
Rock walls like the image below rev my engine. Husband could live without me going ooooooh ahhhhh BABE LOOK every ten minutes… he did not get to live without me doing that for… approximately three of the four hours it took us to get to Yosemite.
Whoops.
Trees! Trees! Trees!
I thought about telling the trees on the right hand side of the pic below to calm down, but then I just decided to take a picture of that In Your Face green.
In the pic above, I questioned if we were still in California? That is green.
It turns out we were, indeed, still in California.
The picture below is a very good representation of the moment we realized we’d taken BIG truck onto TINY roads. We also received a hint of gorgeousness to come.
At this stage in the trip, husband was just starting to laugh and embrace how RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED I was getting over going on a ROAD TRIP.
Like no ghost of a lie, y’all. Husband had zero doubt my perky little 5’3″ fatass self was having a fucking blast. There were times I just sat in the truck bouncing on my seat and clapping my hands because that fucking excited.
I am really easy to please sometimes.
This is the point where my husband came to terms with the fact we would be driving along cliffs… and not all sections of cliff had a guardrail. I believe it took him about three miles to become numbed to the prospect of immediate death directly off the non-existent shoulder.
Me? I just tried to get pictures of the cliffs and our immediate deaths should the road decide to no longer be a road.
You know shit is going down when they actually bother to warn you on this road.
Ooooh roooccckkksss….
We found water! This was a highlight of the trip, and the spouse and I ended up talking about the river from the moment we spotted it until the really cool shit started going down. And even then, we discussed the really cool shit and the river.
Neither of us have been near a river in a while, and the water was up!
Park! Park! Park! Park! Park!!!!!
Uhm, yeah. It was very difficult to contain my excitement at this stage in the trip. By difficult to contain, I mean, I had to clamp my mouth closed and sit on my hands.
It’s a rock! It’s water! AHHHHHH!!!!
TREES!!!
PIZZZZZAAAAAA! (It was good, too.)
We got a tent cabin, which I mystically got upgraded to heated, for our stay in the park. This concludes the “arrival” portion of the trip.
ONTO THE ADVENTURE PORTION!!!
Burning daystar!!
So much bright, why so bright??
The light, it burrrrrnnnssss.
Exercising/therapy paid off! Husband picked an easy trail for me to hike!! YAYAAYAYAYAYAA!
(4.9 miles walked in a day, I did not die. Husband was SO proud because I had been in such bad shape at San Diego, and I actually walked like an almost-normal person!!)
He was definitely taking me to a secondary location.
There are rocks in Yosemite. Big ones. (Squeeeeee.)
This tree annoyed my husband because I spent five to ten minutes trying to get the PERFECT picture of this tree.
This tree would make excellent book cover fodder.
What a pretty bird!! I love you, bird.
Lower Yosemite Falls!!!
That time I set my phone on the bench and accidentally took a really swanky picture.
Such pretty water below the falls.
Upper Yosemite Falls!
Upper Yosemite Falls as seen from Curry Village, during the snow. Snoooooow.
El Capitan!
No idea what rocks these are, but they are pretty and I like them.
El Capitan again, but from a different angle.
Cascade Creek.
A sobering reminder Yosemite burned.
And for the final picture of this post, I present the Rim of the World Vista Point outside of Yosemite park. It sure is purty.
So happy you had a wonderful trip. Thanks for the pix reminding me what a beautiful place it is.
Yay!! Road trips are awesome!! And they are ALWAYS better when they include both rocks and water. Living around the great lakes our road trips usually end up at Lake Superior which is an all encompassing good time!
Very cool! Squeeeee! I recommend also the Black Hills here in South Dakota. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8UwqtBIAqc And we have cool caves too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkAxHMB1g6Y
Lovely! So glad you had an amazing time, and grateful you shared your photos. I’m on my second read of Plaidypus and really enjoying it.
My husband and I visited Yosemite about 45 years ago. We were sleeping in the back of his Datsun pickup with a cover over us made from pvc pipe and a tarp. We were camped a few yards from a stream and the first evening we were there we heard some growls coming from across the stream. We looked over to see a very grouchy bear who had awakened from his winter hibernation. I was exactly thrilled with our soft top camper shell under the circumstances. BTW, great pictures and I love looking at rocks and water on my road trips.
If you get that excited about rocks, trees, water, and views, you need to come east to the Great Smoky Mountains!
I grew up in Maryland, and I’ve done the entirety of the east coast range from Maine… and since I could, went right on down to the keys LOL. We traveled extensively when I was a child. If it’s a mountain east of the Mississippi, I’ve probably been to it, played on it, or have at least seen it from a distance lol
Your pictures remind me of everything I love about California, except the drunk driver. Thank you for sharing. I’m am so glad you were able to get around walking and felt you were holding your own.
Omgosh!! Thank you for sharing your travels! You’re in my old stomping grounds – Central Coast, San Juaquin Valley – when I was a kid and young adult. Casa de Fruita is amazing!!!! Yosemite is too! I’m so glad you got to go and get out and about in the process. ? PS: Thank you for reporting the drunk driver! I am like your hubby – I have no issue using my bright yellow Xterra as a traffic cone/light/flag when driving. lol
Casa de Fruta is the best!!! Used to live in Los Banos.
Beautiful, but no animal pic?
We didn’t see any animals beyond some adorable squirrels.
It’s so good to see you traveling and enjoying life! It makes me happy that you’re taking time out to take care of yourself! Rocks and water are the best!
Amazing trip and photos. Thanks for sharin.
Pictures were beautiful! And I got such a laugh with the commentary. I could relate to each of them. It was great seeing the falls. We missed them when we visited a few years ago during a dry period. I hope you get to do more traveling like this.
A wonderful trip!! Thank you for the photos. Great rocks! Your hard work paid off, so glad you could enjoy it. The bird was great too (always love seeing birds from elsewhere) Yosemite is on the list of places to visit.
Loved your Yosemite trip photos and your excitement! But I had to respond to the bird you loved. It’s a Stellar Jay, and they are the gangsters of the forest. On a group camping trip years ago, we had the bright idea to pack baggies of nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and chocolate chips, and have a “bag your own trail mix” buffet after breakfast. The Stellar Jay’s swooped in, and chaos ensued. First, they dive bombed anything open sitting out. Then they decided to rip holes in the plastic bags and help themselves. For a grand finale, they started directly attacking anyone holding a morsel of trailmix.
So: Stellar Jays, strikingly beautiful, too smart for their own good. If they could talk, I’d expect the next stage would be starting a protection racket.
Yes, they seemed wicked smart. I LOVE jays of all stripes. He was sooooo pretty, though.
I totally understand the obsession with green and water as I live in Western Australia. I have even found myself pointing out puddles on the side of the road on our travels elsewhere. I try really hard not to but it just pops out. Sigh
Squee – Perth beaches in a book – happy dance
Thank you, I love that you’re sharing so many pics, for us who don’t travel well
Love it, thanks for your pics. I feel like I have gone there too.
What a great trip! It really is beautiful country there. I’ve been back in Pa for 31 years – I grew up in Phoenix and spent much time at my aunt & uncle’s place in Huntington Beach. We have some great scenery here too, but nothing is as beautiful to me as the desert. But if you want trees, we have got TREES here! ?? Thank you for sharing the pics and all about the start of your trip. Have a good weekend. ?
I’ll be going back to reading Water Witch. And impatiently waiting for Plaidypus (spelling?) to magically appear in my Kindle account on Tuesday. Night!
Gorgeous.
Lol. You sound a lot like me when I’m excited & happy about traveling! ??
Thanks so much for sharing your lovely pictures and the adventure. I wasn’t able to make it there while I lived in CA, so your travelogue was much appreciated.
I love seeing your joy! Thank you for sharing.
I love your pictures and your enthusiasm!! Am also so happy that I am not the only one who squeees over giant rocks ?
Glad you had a nice trip! And that was a pretty ?
Very nice pictures ! Thank you for sharing.
We went there in 2018, after the San José WorldCon and stayed in the same cabins. It was the week they reopened after the wildfires, so lots of the neighboring sites weren’t open yet. There were fewer people, but also fewer buses. The food was amazing, and very reasonably priced. We especially enjoyed the ranger programs on search & rescue and the one-man John Muir show. Did you make it to any ranger programs? It’s wonderful you were able to reap the rewards of all your hard work and therapy and enjoy walks.
I didn’t get to see any of the ranger programs, alas! The park was just starting to really reopen for the season. But it’s okay! We’re going to go back when I’m in better shape.
It sounds like it was a wonderful trip. Yosemite is a wonderful place to visit. Thanks for sharing the really beautiful pictures.
Love love love your travelogues, your excitement, and your photos! Last time I went to Yosemite was 40+ years ago, when I was a kid, with my parents. We had a room with a balcony at one of the hotels in the village, and were greeted every morning by a bold jay sitting on the railing, telling us it was time to get out and go explore. Thanks for bringing back some great memories!
Your pictures are amazing! I really envy you though. Every time I go on a road trip when I visit my brother in Vegas, I sleep. I am asleep within 15 minutes of the car starting. I sleep on buses, trains, boats, airplanes, and washing machines. Yes. Washing machines. If it has a motor and I am touching it, I will sleep. I miss out on a lot of stuff that way.
Amazing pictures! I’m glad you and your husband had such a good time!
beautiful pictures. glad you had so much fun.