Yosemite June 2010 Day 2 (The belated 2nd of 4 installments)

 I posted the first day of our June 2010 Yosemite trip a while back. Here's day 2:

The next day we woke up early and made our way back to Yosemite. The plan for this day was to head up Tioga Road (Hwy 120), which is the road that goes across the middle of the park from east to west. My mom had driven into the park from highway 395 and had gone up and over Tioga Pass and she had seen a bunch of snow and wanted us to see it too. But I'm getting too far up the narrative road. First let me tell you about our drive. We were staying in Bass Lake--the town, not the body of water, which was about a twenty minute drive to the South entrance of the park. However, it's still about an hour's drive to the valley from there, when there's no road work in progress--which there was when we were there (as there was later when we visited Sequioa and Lassen). The following 2 pictures show how we spent a good portion of our time in Yosemite.

The white truck in the lead is a pilot car

See Rachel in the back seat. She's keeping the peace.

Shortly after we turned onto Tioga Road, we looked out into a big green meadow and saw:

Our first Yosemite Bear

There wasn't really any shoulder to pull over, so I did the best I could, flicked on my hazard lights, and we spent the next five minutes or so checking out this awesome guy.

same bear, different direction

My mom had been doing her research and had our day planned out for us, but we had to improvise a little since a couple of the trails we planned to hike were blocked with snow. Our first intended hike was to May Lake, but the road up to the trailhead was closed due to snow. Instead, we headed over to Lake Tenaya and stopped for lunch and a little relaxation.

Meghan enjoying Tenaya Lake

Then we headed over to Tuolumne Meadows, where again, our options were limited by the snow. We took a short hike to Parson's Lodge and Soda Springs

I can't remember where we took this one, but it's pretty

Me and the the only hiking partner I could find who wasn't too embarrassed to be seen with me. I don't get it.

More wildlife, this time a marmot (also notice Digicam in the bottom left)

Another marmot

water from Soda Springs

This is Soda Springs-- a spring of naturally carbonated water. We did not taste test.

My favorite picture of the Tuolumne River

My two hiker girls.

You can't be happy all the time

More of the beauty of Yosemite

mommy/daughter moment



Lembert Dome



Bambi's great grandson Sambi

Me, Meghan, and a gummi apple ring at Olmstead Point

I couldn't resist (By the way, the day of this post is a special one for Rachel and I. Let's just say it involves the number 13)

Zoomed in view of Half Dome from Olmstead Point

More Zoomed in view

After Olmstead Point we headed over to the trailhead for Lukens Lake, which is supposed to be a great family day hike--when the trail isn't hidden by snow. We didn't get too far before we had no idea where the trail was because in most parts the ground was covered in snow. We did our best to make sure that we could find our way back, but once we got to where we could see the lake from a distance (the picture in the collage is zoomed in, we weren't really that close), I was afraid to turn and head over there because I was afraid we wouldn't be able to find our way back to the trailhead once we changed directions. Also, you can't see in the picture, but behind the brush there is a stream that was mostly covered with snow, but not enough to confidently walk across. I was probably being overcautious, but I'm a worrier when I'm with the kids. So we called it good and headed back.

Lukens Lake hike