In awe in Yosemite National Park

Day four ...

It was a long night and we wake up feeling the cold on our noses - the only thing sticking out of our five blanket cocoon. It is fresh, chilly, but peaceful.

Staying in bed seems like a great idea, but our bladders have another plan, an urgent plan. We spring out of bed and get dressed like the house is on fire. “Jeans! Shirt! Jumper!!! Scarf!!! Where are my socks!!! It’s so cold!!!”

We hike up to the bathroom and splash cold water on to our faces ... WAKE UP!!!! Done.

Next stop, the Bug Cafe. We wander into the cafe/mess hall, unsure of what this ‘summer camp’ will have to offer us for breakfast. We read the giant white board that is covered in all of the food offerings covering breakfast through to dinner. We are delighted to see scrambled tofu on the menu! We both order a delicious ‘Californian’ which we think means anything but with avocado on it. We take a seat and within minutes our breakfast is on our table and it is delicious!

We have also ordered a packed lunch to take with us into Yosemite National Park. It arrives in an individual pack for each of us. We have a cute pack each containing a sandwich - with the salad separated so the bread doesn’t get soggy :) - trail mix and an apple. So cute.

After breakfast we jump into the car - which we have now named Sedrick - and start on the road the Yosemite. We drive along a winding road, seeing the landscape change from country scrub to lush green forests of pine trees.

We start climbing up and up the mountain, watching the temperature reading in the car dashboard dropping.

After driving for about an hour we turn around a corner and the most amazing site is revealed. A massive granite rock face, bare of any trees or growth. Further along we see another mountain covered in pine trees dusted in snow.

Our faces are frozen in the same expression - a giant O. It is hard to describe what we are seeing. The views look like something out of a film. I can’t even think of what film. Dances with Wolves? Twilight? The scene is hard to process. It is like seeing something in real life that has been photographed over and over again. The image is already cemented in your mind. You know exactly what it looks like. You know how the light strikes the scene at certain angles. You know the colour, the detail. But there is nothing better than seeing with your own eyes.

I have been struggling with this trip with my photography. I am being blown away by the things I am taking in and then being bitterly disappointed with my photographed results. How can my awesome camera not capture the scene that is in front of us. We see vivid colour, texture, shade, depth. We also smell the fresh air, feel the snow on our face, take in the panorama. Sorry about that. Emotions :)

We keep driving to the park entrance and pay for our pass. The drive through the park continues to amaze us. Every corner reveals another unreal site. Snow is everywhere. The temperature is about 5 degrees. We see about 30 cars pulled over up ahead. As we get closer, we see why. The massive Yosemite Falls are revealed.

We decide to get a closer look at the falls. We park the car. Check that our food is locked away safe from hungry bears. Apparently the hungry bears have ripped off car doors in the past to get to the delicious insides.

Car parked. Pi-ci-nic basket yogi-proofed. Jumper on. Freezing.

We take a short stroll to the lower falls. We read that we have been very lucky with the timing of our trip. Spring is the perfect time to see the falls in full flow. The water source for the falls are the melting snows from higher above. And the right now, the falls are gushing. The mix of snow and waterfall spray is in the air. We marvel at the natural wonder and then agree that it is definitely a lot colder than we had ever expected and our cute packed lunch is waiting for us in the warm, dry car.

Back in the car, lunch devoured, we start off back to ‘the bug’.

Yosemite National Park is full of wonder and we have only just seen a snippet of it. We plan to drive to Giant Sequoia Grove tomorrow to marvel at ancient giants.

Back at the bug, we shower (shared ...), we have a delightful dinner, and head back to our tent.

The evening is even colder. We jump into bed realising it is even colder under the sheets!! We stay as close to each other as possible to stay warm and eventually fall asleep, still listening for bear footsteps or cougar cries.

Goodnight.
xx