After a picnic by the lake we drove back along the Tioga Road stopping off at Olmsted Point for some amazing views of Half Dome.
There are lots of amazing waterfalls in Yosemite and the best time to see them is in May. Before driving to our lodge we stopped off at Bridalveil Falls. It was packed with people at the view point, we could barely move.
When I tried to book a hotel in Yosemite I really struggled to find any rooms free even though I was looking months in advance. I managed to book us into Tenaya Lodge which is just outside the south entrance of the park. When we arrived in the park I was a bit annoyed to see vacancy signs when we drove past some of the other hotels in the park, even though they didn't have any rooms when I checked online before. We heard someone else talking about this and apparently loads of people book up months in advance and then cancel at the last minute. We did like our hotel but it was a good 45 minute drive from Yosemite Valley so it would have been better to be a bit more central.
On Wednesday morning we decided to get up early so that we could explore Yosemite Village before the crowds arrived. First we walked to lower Yosemite Falls...
Then we followed a trail to Mirror Lake. We were convinced that we were lost because it seemed to be taking a long time to reach the lake. We almost turned back thinking we must have taken a wrong turn somewhere but luckily we decided to walk just a bit further first and a couple of minutes later we found what we were looking for!
After our long hike we were ready for lunch so we walked to the beautiful Ahwahnee Hotel.
After lunch we had a bit more energy for another short hike, this time to Happy Isles...
On our drive back to the hotel later that evening, we stopped at the tunnel view point to look at this stunning view...
Then back at our hotel it was time for dinner - I had a very American meal of sliders and s'mores in a pot. Yes that is toasted marshmallow peaking out the top of the glass!
On our last day in Yosemite we started the morning by driving to Wawona. We parked the car and jumped on the bus to Mariposa Grove, the home of the giant sequoia trees. After driving through a couple of trees in the Redwood parks we now had the opportunity for another new experience - walking through a tree!
On the whole I didn't think the trees here were as impressive as the Redwoods but there was one tree that was huuuuuuuuge! You can just about make me out at the bottom of the second photo below.
After our morning with the sequoias we couldn't decide whether to spend the afternoon in Yosemite or start our drive towards San Francisco. In the end we decided to head up to Glacier Point. I'm scared of heights so several times on the drive I started to regret our decision and almost made Chris turn back twice. In the end we were really glad that we went up there, the views were fantastic (even though I had to spend most of my time clinging on to Chris!). It's a definite must do for anyone visiting Yosemite and was a perfect end to our 3 days in the park.
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