Yosemite definitely makes it on my list of favorite places in the world, right next to Tetons and Hawaii.  I planned it to be the highlight of our trip, and it certainly did not disappoint.  We drove through a few years ago en route to a family reunion in Sacramento and didn't have more than an hour or so before sundown to spend in the park, but I knew then that we would have to return soon to pick up what we missed.  With the huge amount of snowfall this year, the waterfalls were unreal this time of year.

At Bridalveil Falls, there was so much water that it spilled over and turned the trail into a small river of its own.  We headed up to Glacier Point, which like Sonora Pass, opened just a few days before our arrival.  I had delayed this trip a couple of weeks in hopes that it would be open, and the waiting paid off.  Awesome panorama views.  It was also on this day that I discovered that I was missing a crosstrainer, so I was stuck with sandals for the duration of the trip.  Not long after that realization, the strap on the back of my sandals broke and I didn't have even a single pair of decent footwear.  This made it even more difficult in the snow at Sentinel Dome trailhead.  I could only last a minute or two in the snow.  We decided to do some sledding on our boogie board and that was fun.  We also realized the next day that we had left our little umbrella stroller with Jessica's jacket tied to it in the Glacier Point parking lot.  Attempts to recover it were unsuccessful.

        
Among our other Yosemite adven ture s included hikes to Mirror Lake, Mist Trail, and Cook's Meadow.  As with our prior road trip to Canada, the picture that inspired this trip was along the trail to Yosemite Falls.  Each of these hikes included great rewards along the trail or at the end of the trail.  Can't go wrong in this park!  On our way to go hike Cook's Meadow, we stopped a bear on our way into the park.  Of course, a horde of people had gathered and the rangers were already on it.  Just as I managed to park and jump out with the camera, the rangers ran after the bear and scared it away!  I only managed a couple shots from considerable distance, much like we did at Yellowstone.

Too many good pictures to choose from!

Also, Kiara was so proud of getting her junior ranger badge.