"Yosemite is by far the grandest of all the special temples of Nature
I was ever permitted to enter." --John Muir
When I was trying to decide where to go for a birthday trip, I knew I wanted to see Redwoods but I also thought it would be great to experience Yosemite again. The last time we were there was October of 2021.
This would be a driving trip. I looked two months out for housing in the park.
No luck. Every room and camping site is grabbed a year or more out.
Because my search involved the message: No stairs if possible, VRBO came up with a home that looked too good to be true and it was available for our dates!
It is in a housing development within the park or at least right on the edge of the boundaries. I never knew about it. You have to enter the park through one of five entry gates to get to the development.
The renters required a minimum 5 night stay, but there were three nights in between two groups with 5 nights and they allowed us to rent. It worked out great and was close to everything, and we were able to save some
money and time on gas because of the location
and money and time on food because of the kitchen.
Here are typical houses in the area.
Do you think they have enough stairs?
Here is where we stayed!
We have been to Yosemite multiple times
so this post will feature the unique things about this particular trip
which included staying at the above home
For starters it was raining when we arrived through the park gate.
As the rain stopped there were low clouds like puffs of cotton.
The very next morning we went here:
This area has been closed for quite a few years so we were anxious to see it. It contains over 500 mature Sequoias. With my handicap placard we were able to drive on some roads that others could only reach by shuttle bus stops.
It was very helpful for me!
In fact some of the walks were even accessible for me:
The grove is famous for the Grizzly Giant,
one of the oldest and largest Sequoias
and estimated to be 2,700 years old!
Dan was able to walk further and see more:
I never knew about this connection Abraham Lincoln had to Yosemite:
More intesting things to learn:
We also drove to Glacier Point which gives an unmatched
view of Yosemite Valley
There was another accessible path for me...
...and Dan got even closer for his photos.
Another popular spot is Tunnel View.
We stopped there at least twice each day and sometimes more.
This was the first day after the rain.
There are always lots of people there!
This was just about sunset.
One day we took a selfie and then someone offered to take one for us:
One of our favorites is El Capitan. In the spring and fall you can watch climbers through binoculars but in the heat of summer there was no one to be seen. Just this beautiful granite which is 3,000 feet high from base to summit!
A new thing we did since we were car-bound
was drive to an entrance we had never been through.
Each of the five entrances involves a longish ride
to get to the valley and includes different scenery.
We enjoyed our ride to the El Portal entrance and back.
There was a lot of this white rock.
We have done the hike to Mirror Lake before
but this time with our handicap placard we were able
to drive on a road right to the lake.
It was a blessing for me.
The lake is almost empty in the summer.
Here is where we were able to park:
Dan was able to get a few shots that show why it has the name Mirror Lake!
Another great part of Yosemite are the waterfalls.
Usually by late August the falls are dried up, but we were lucky
to see several and Dan did hikes to two of them.
Lower Yosemite Falls hike:
He took this photo because all of these people have crossed the barrier
that says do not go beyond this barrier for your safety!
Bridelveil Falls Hike
The wind constantly blows these falls to one side.
Meanwhile I was in the parking lot amidst this beautiful scenery
and checking out license plates.
We got 45 states in Yosemite!
(See separate blog post)
Just sitting in the car with my phone camera,
how about a selfie?!
We enjoyed this amazing sunset on our way back to the house on our last day!
I will look forward to going to Yosemite again.
We never get tired of it!
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