YOSEMITE!

I know I have mention in previous postings about the snow melt this year. Matt said, "Instead of a storm chaser, I am going to call you the water chaser." Because once again, I was reading about how awesome Yosemite is this year because of the hundreds of unnamed falls. They say there were falls where falls haven't appeared in years. I asked my mom if she wanted to do a day trip and she was game. However when I told Matt he said, "Why don't you spend the night?" That's all it took...within an hour of his comment I booked a room in Yosemite Lodge. I was SO excited because I have always just camped when I have gone to Yosemite, and it was going to be a whole new experience for me.

I thought I was doing a good thing when I booked it for Sunday night because Matt has Monday's off. However the bishop is currently out and so were some other important people and Matt was very discouraged I was going to take him away from church-in fact he didn't make up his mind if he was going or not until the night before. Plus he wasn't too thrilled that I was traveling without checking with my OB/GYN since I was 35 weeks along. I wasn't too worried about it, but it was really stressing him out. Between worrying about what to do about church and me traveling he didn't get much sleep this past week. However he did come and we had a wonderful trip. He worried about me the whole time and was very grateful we made it back home without incident.

When we first started my mom was so nervous to drive because she had Brielle in the car. She explained it was like driving a newborn home for the first time. She was killing me because she was going so slow, the first little while was 5 mph under the speed limit. For the first time in my life I didn't say anything because I was just grateful she was willing to go and she made this trip possible for me. However in the back of my mind I was thinking, "Oh man this is going to take FOREVER!" However she finally relaxed, her shoulders dropped and she started going the speed limit. On our way down I think we saw one of the craziest drivers I have ever seen on a road. I think this guy thought he was the only one on the road because he was weaving in and out of traffic-almost hitting oncoming traffic. It was very scary. In fact the one experience we were closest too was him flying past us and another trailer. He kept trying to pass the trailer despite the fact there were motorcyclist closely approaching. The trailer had to go clear over to the shoulder and the motorcyclist went over their shoulder just so they wouldn't get hit. Then he pulled the same move a few miles ahead of us. I thought for sure we were going to come upon a car accident but we never did (thankfully).

The drive down was absolutely beautiful and still so green. We had such a great time together. At the beginning of the trip mom said "Joy in the Journey." For some reason that really affected me and I really did just enjoy every moment. If I was starting to get frustrated or something I would remember that statement and it calmed me down. Matt was kind enough to sit in the back with Brielle and did a wonderful job entertaining her.

The drive down.

We left Brielle's sunglasses at Oma's house. She kept wanting to wear Matt's sunglasses and then mine. We decided we needed to buy some new ones this trip, especially when she started pulling at the sides of the sunglasses.

Brielle playing peek-a-boo

As we were getting higher in elevation we were starting to see more snow. At the top of Tioga Pass the lakes were still frozen over and there was around 3 feet of snow. We were starting to get nervous that we weren't going to be able to do anything because all the trails would be too snowy. My mom was super nervous because she didn't bring any warm attire.

There had to be an avalanche where that dirt goes running down the mountain. If you look at the top left corner you can see the huge snow lip that is hanging over.

We seriously were shocked to see the pass like this in the middle of June. It was a first for all of us. It was absolutely gorgeous.

I made Matt get out and stand there so we could get an idea of how much snow there still was.

It was so cold the Ranger station had their fireplace going!

Look at the reflection-I LOVE this picture.

You know you are getting closer when you can see half dome. Oh how I love Yosemite.

We stopped to play in the snow and enjoy the sun. Every time Brielle saw snow she would yell out "WA,WA" for water. She liked playing in the snow and trying to eat it. After so long her hands would get cold and she could say "Brr."

Did I mention I took Brielle on this trip while she was frighting a cold. The upper elevation was pretty brutal on her, and she couldn't sleep very well because she was coughing. Her poor eyes were extra sensitive to the sun and they were red and swollen and watery at times. However, she loved getting out and seriously was such a good sport about it.

My mom has been to the park several more times than myself. Matt and I have only explored the hikes around the valley floor. This was a good opportunity for us to begin venturing out and seeing what there is above the valley floor...

We first encountered melting snow and water on the trail. Brielle LOVED playing in the water despite the frigid temperature. There was one point where Brielle almost head planted it right into a puddle because she was so anxious to dip her hands into it. We didn't make it very far on this trail, we were stopped by a snow and so we turned around.

Poor Matt was so tired, he tried to keep his eyes open but exhaustion won. It sure is easier to sleep when Brielle is sleeping.

There are several scenic stops on the way down to the valley floor and we stopped at a few of them. Brielle enjoyed running around being in the great outdoors and exploring.

Half dome and Bridal Veil Falls.

Our first stop when we made it to the valley was Bridal Veil Falls. It was mid-afternoon when we arrived at it was PACKED. Mom couldn't believe how many people there were-however Matt and I have been there when it's been busy. There was so much water coming off the falls you could feel the spray shortly past the parking lot.

The downhill stream from the Fall.

Wow my belly is looking BIG!

I love the sound of the rushing water.

Brielle was excited to be in her stroller and go for walk.

As we walked up the trail we were looking at the people coming down-DRENCHED! Good thing it was a warm sunny afternoon. Brielle wasn't sure what to think of the mist and tried to keep her head down so it wouldn't get into her face. My mom put on her Mickey Mouse rain slacker.

We are at the end of the trail right below the fall

My mom is the same spot we were.

Matt and Brielle didn't hang around very long. Brielle started to get too cold and so Matt took her to the car to dry off.

Our next stop was Glacier Point. It takes some time to get there and I was a little nervous about Brielle having to deal with the car, but she didn't really mind. My mom enjoyed driving the very curvy road and I learned why my Dad liked the Tourage so much-it defiantly handles the curves nice. I didn't get car sick at all on this trip.

We did stop and take more pictures of Half Dome and Bridal Veil Falls.

Glacier Point is a great area to see the entire park. You get the view of Half Dome, Nevada and Vernal Falls, Upper and Lower Yosemite and other unnamed falls that occur when there is so much snow melt. We enjoyed walking around and enjoying the scenery. We also stopped at ate some ice cream before we left. YUM!

Nevada and Vernal Falls.

We orignally were going to get just ice cream but they had some sunglasses that fit Brielle perfect. We ended up purchasing them hoping to give her poor eyes a little rest from the harsh sun.

It was starting to get late so we headed back down to the Valley so we could check in. Yosemite Lodge is close to Upper and Lower Yosemite. In fact you could see Lower Yosemite from the Lodge and their swimming pool (which we didn't have time to use...sad).

Upper and Lower Yosemite as you are pulling into the park.

The dogwood trees were in bloom and beautiful. This was right outside out room.

It was late and Brielle was hungry and starting to get tired. We were really wanting a sit down restaurant but settled for the cafe because it was something fast. We were slightly disappointed having to eat in the cafe because it is very expensive and for a few dollars more we probably would have had a better dinner. But we made the best of it and it was food in our bellies.

After dinner we stopped at the gift shop to look around. My mom bought Brielle a super cute stuffed animal set that has 6 stuffed animals that live in a stuffed tree trunk. She was so excited she had to sleep with them that night.

Brielle exploring the gift shop, with her ranger hat she was trying on.

By the time we made it back to the room Brielle was ready to cuddle and go to bed. My mom stepped out to talk to my Dad and Brielle didn't want to miss out on her opportunity to snuggle with Oma. The room was super warm. We opened the few windows we had and turned on the ceiling fan and found a floor fan to try to push some air around

I finally had to go out and get her because she wasn't going to sleep and it was getting late. She wasn't too thrilled with me but we were able to calm her down and put her down before my mom got off the phone.

You can see some of the stuffed animals next to her-we put her in bed after she fell asleep. The bed was WAY too small to share with her.

We were all tired and looking at a long day again the next day. We went to bed early and my mom took a sleeping pill (very rare occasion). I was grateful she did because I was up most the night and I am sure I would have kept her awake. The next morning was Mom's birthday. We tried hard to make her day special and we started it off with serving breakfast in bed-strawberries and a bagel with cow cheese because we forgot the cream cheese. We also forgot bowls and spoons for the cereal and milk we brought with us. On top of that we planned on making lunch so we could eat something on the trail and we forgot bread. We made it work because I had enough bagel left over that I used that as our bread. We had cups in the room so they were our bowl and who needed spoons.

She was trying to hid her face because she didn't have her makeup on.

Brielle was enjoying her breakfast while watching Good Morning America.

Once we checked out our first stop was hiking up to Lower Yosemite. I was a little more prepared with Brielle and the water this time. I made sure she had long pants on and a jacket that would cover most of her and her sunglasses on. She was loves the hiking backpack and discovered she could hide her face against Matt's back when she wanted to. Today's water experience was much more pleasurable for her.

We packed our food, drinks, baby equipment and then some into the backpack. I didn't realize how heavy I made it until later that afternoon when I had to pick it up. Matt wasn't kidding when he said he was hiking with a 50lb bag. Thanks for taking one for the team!

Waterfalls are amazing and powerful. The mist and the wind that is created by them are incredible. The picture below is a prime example of how windy and misty it can get.

I didn't even think about it until Matt pointed out I wore a very appropriate shirt color for the wet T-Shirt contest. Of course what was I thinking wearing white when I knew we were going to be getting drenched. Luckily I didn't get too wet at Lower Yosemite and Matt had something I could wear when we were going through the misty trail.

After Lower Yosemite we jumped onto the shuttle and headed over to start our hike up to Vernal Falls via the misty trail. Brielle was fascinated by the shuttle and cried when we got off.

This was the first time I realized how difficult the trail up to the Falls was. It was pretty intense for a little while but I kept pushing because nothing was going to stop me from finishing the hike. However we did stop more than I ever had before. I am glad we started early so it wasn't so warm and crowed.

Brielle slept most the way up and Matt enjoyed the breaks too.

Brielle didn't have much space to breath. I kept thinking she was going to smother herself.

The last portion of the hike is via the misty trail at the base of Vernal Falls. The trail is all wet steps and it so fun to do

My poor camera got really wet, but it did a fantastic job.

Brielle was like a little turtle, poking her head up when she wanted and keeping it down when she was tired of the mist.

Can you see the double rainbow?

Some man was super kind and let me use his hankerchief to wipe down my camera lens or else we probably wouldn't have been able to take the next few pictures.

We finally made it to the top. We were tired and hungry and ready for lunch. I ran into a few pregnant women while we were resting. I won for being the furthest along. It was funny to watch the reaction of people as they found out I was nine months. In fact passing on group the stopped me and said if they had enough energy they would stand up and applaude me for doing this hike. I must say it had it's challenging moments so I am happy I accomplished it. It was a burning desire of mine to do this hike today. I am grateful my mom was willing to give up her birthday and hike it with me and Matt was willing to do whatever it took to make me happy. Both my Matt and my Mom made personal sacrifices so I could go to Yosemite and I am eternally grateful.

The view from the edge of Vernal Fall.

It was time to eat!

Brielle found a pistachio shell which entertained her for some time.

Brielle is telling Matt "Bye-Bye" hoping he will leave her alone. Sorry Brielle, too many dangers to leave you alone. She kept trying and would get frurstated at times beucase he wouldn't leave.

We decided to hike back down the misty trail. It was killing Matt to go so slow and so we left him go his pace. We got stuck behind some really stupid hikers that didn't know any hiker etiquette. We kept trying to get around them but they were taking up the whole trail. Finally I found my opening and went for it during the misty trail. I ended up slipping and went down, but I was able to jump right up. It didn't hurt me at all but it sure scared my mom who watched from behind.

Brielle fell asleep again on the way back down. It was really warm and I was grateful for every section of shade we had. We were going to call my Dad at the top of the falls but forgot so we stopped on the trail so my mom could call him.

We ended up doing a 3 mile hike which was good enough for me, I was super happy and could go home at any point.

We were going to try to do Mirror Lake but we took a couple steps and decided it was too hot and we were happy with our day. So we jumped back onto the shuttle to check out Curry Village.

It wont be long where I am going to have Brielle hike on her own and carry her own backpack. It looks like she wont mind wearing it.

The trip back seemes to go by real fast. We were sad to say good-bye but were happy to go home to our beds and the rest of the family.

Last glimpse.

We were going to be home in time to get together with Erin, Dad and Grandpa Hicks and celebrate Mom's birthday. She chose Red Lobster and we all had a delicious meal. Happy Birthday Mom! Thanks again.

Brielle is always willing to help.

She was telling Grandpa all about her adventures.