As we were fairly last minute in booking this trip, we were told we had no chance of getting an RV spot with the Yosemite National Park for the 3 months of summer - apparently they book out within about 3 minutes of the reservation window opening, 6 months prior! So we managed to book a cute park on the east entrance in Lee Vining, overlooking the Mono Lake. It was just great to be back in California after the drive across Nevada.
......just after I trimmed Luke hair, and gave him what looks like a Shane Warne early 90s mullet - oops! He didn't complain though.
They also had an old speed boat in the yard, which the kids loved!
The next morning we set off the Yosemite's east park entrance. We were excited to see what everybody raves about - and it didn't disappoint.
This park was a little more hectic than we were used too, and a really busy holiday time, so manoeuvring our 27ft rig was not always easy. Plus it became clear that Yosemite is much more about the hikes, than what you can see driving along. Not particularly suited to our situation with three small children. We had to concede defeat and skip the "must not miss" spots such as the Cathedral Lakes, because they we about 3 or 4km trails, and too much for little legs.
We did find a lovely spot for a short walk and lunch called Tanaya Lake. We could watch the crazy rock climbers head up sheer cliff faces, and Trent could have his customary icy cold dip. There has been a considerable drop in temperature since we've headed West - glad we packed those fleeces after all.
One of the park highlights we were not going to budge on was checking out the giant Sequoia trees - some of which are 3,000 years old. This was a 2 mile round trip, but a lot steeper than we thought - worth it though! The kids walked through a "tunnel tree" and also through a fallen tree trunk (150 years ago) - it was very cool! All a bit much for Lukey though, who conked just as we got back to the car.
The remainder of the East/West drive was spectacular. Then is was about dropping into the bottom of the Yosemite valley to check out the waterfalls and the view from below.
Without the option of hiking or climbing through Yosemite, I realise we only managed to scratch the surface. But it is truly awe-inspiring and we can appreciate why this is a key holiday destination, particularly for city-based Californians. Nature at it's very best.
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