Mariposa Pines and Wawona

 It was our final day to explore Yosemite!!  We left the "close by" things for our final full day and it worked out perfectly!

First on the agenda was to go to Mariposa Pines which has the large redwood trees!  I was really excited to do this as I've seen the pictures of them and couldn't wait to walk among them!

Because we had the handicapped sticker, we were allowed to drive the first part of it, where all the other people had to take the shuttle - that was really nice!

It was a nice walk up to the "Grizzly Giant"!  This tree is enormous!!  The base circumference is 96 ft!!!  It is 2995 years old and is 209 ft tall!!!  WOW!!

As you can tell by our shirts, it was cooler today than the past 2 days!!  What a relief!!!  90 degrees was much better than 96!!

We all took individual pics in front of this amazing tree!

All 4 of us went for a short hike and we saw this set of trees which is called The Bachelor and Three Graces!

This is called The Fallen Monarch - gosh was that tree huge!

 

Marilyn and Karen decided to stay at the welcome center while Amy and I decided to take one more trail - it was up, up, up for our walk which we weren't aware of but it was a great hike and we enjoyed it!!

What fun to see these huge sequoia trees!!

Back to the house for lunch and then we did the History Center Tour, right there in Wawona where our cabin is!  It was a walk around outside tour on our own and I loved the covered bridge!

We saw lots of cabins with history about each one and inside the old horse barn was this carriage!!  Also an old timer who loved answering your questions and visiting!

Then it was off to The Swinging Bridge which involved a hike to the creek - it was a nice walk and the bridge was fun to cross!  It was pretty darn warm out by this time!

The creek water was beautiful and so clear - Marilyn had brought her swimsuit so she cooled off in the water while the rest of us sat in the shade!

I rolled my capris up as I didn't bring any shorts to wear!!  Worked just fine!

Marilyn was up for cooking dinner that evening and cooked a pasta with a tomato based veggie sauce and it was delicious!  Unfortunately a mouse or mice found our cabin sometime during the day and proceeded to eat most of our crackers and snacks - darn!!  Good thing it was the last day or we would have had to go grocery shopping again!!  We put the remainder of our snacks in the frig for the night!

Saturday morning we were up early as had to leave by 8:00 to get back to the airport in Fresno!  Amy and I dropped the girls off to get through security while we returned the rental car - easy enough!!  And then we headed into the airport for our flight at 12:15!  I enjoyed my cup of coffee I got there and before we knew it, it was time to board!

I took the middle seat on the way home as it was once again a full flight!  We landed in Denver and rode the shuttle to our parked car and soon were on our way home!  I dropped Amy off in Co. Springs and soon made it to "Home Sweet Home"!!  A great trip with friends!!

Glacier Point

 We actually slept in a little bit as didn't leave till 8:00!!  It was nice and COOL outside and we were hoping the day would be cooler - but that wasn't going to happen!!  Once again, we had 96 degree weather!

Karen needed coffee and the little market didn't open till 8:00 so she got coffee there - I had brought my international instant mocha coffee with me so made a "to go" cup every day which worked out great!  And soon we were on our way - I drove on this day so Amy could see the surroundings!

By the time we got to our stopping point, the sun was out and it was HOT!  We all carried water and snacks and started the "Sentinel Dome" hike which was a mile up!  The hike wasn't bad but there were some stones on part of the hike that weren't easy to get over at times!  So it did take us a while to get up there but we were in no hurry anyway!

Once again, the views were absolutely amazing!!  This big log was a perfect place to perch for a picture!

A great view of El Capitan - we used the binoculars and could see climbers - I just can't imagine anyone trying that!

Check out that blue, blue sky!!

Amy decided to hike down a different trail that went right to Glacier Point, our next stop - so Karen, Marilyn and I hiked down our original path to the car and then drove!  The place was packed as by this time it was about noon!!  Luckily we had Karen's disability tag for the car so we could park in handicapped and that certainly helped!  We met Amy and then walked up to the point for these awesome views!

WOW!  We could see 1/2 Dome so clearly and the pictures turned out amazing!!

Looking down at the bottom from above!

This is probably my favorite picture of me - even with a slight breeze on my hair, I just love the backdrop!

We spent quite a bit of time here just hanging out and enjoying the scenary!  Then it was a short hike back to the car and we headed back to the cabin for lunch!

It was nice to just relax the rest of the afternoon, catch up on exchanging pictures and sending them to our families!    Amy cooked a chicken white chile for dinner along with sourdough bread and we all ate outside!  We played some cards and I taught "Swoop" as Karen had brought 3 decks of cards to use!  Another terrific day!

To Be Cont'd......

Yosemite Valley

 I felt sorry for my roommate Amy since I've been coughing from allergies for the last couple of weeks!  It's not bad during the day but as soon as I lie down,  I can feel the post nasal drip and the coughing starts!!  Luckily I brought PLENTY of cough drops AND benadryl to help me sleep!

We had a busy day ahead so left the house at 7:00AM!!!!!  Yes, we were up mighty early!!

Since we were already in the park, it didn't take long before our first stop just to admire the views!!  Here's Marilyn, Karen and Amy!!  And yes, we all had sweatshirts on as it was darn chilly when we first arrived!!  But later.............oh my!!  96 degrees and we were all SO HOT!

One of our first short hikes was to Bridalveil Falls - unfortunately there is hardly any water this time of year but it was still a beautiful walk!  After this, the sun came out and we were in hats the rest of the day!

Three Brothers Mountains - so magnificent!!

Can you believe the size of these pine cones???  And yes, there are signs that say no picking up and leaving with the pine cones!!

I loved all the dead and weird looking trees due to the fire they had many years ago!

Everywhere you look are views, views, views!!!

This was a hike into Cook's Meadow which leads to the Merced River - absolutely gorgeous!

The water was so pretty and the views outstanding!

Our FAVORITE picture that we have of the 4 of us!!  A super nice bridge and we asked someone to take our photo!!  

We truly enjoyed the valley, even though it got busier and busier during the day!!  There were a lot of places you could walk but a lot of sights required you to take a shuttle bus which were very crowded most of the time!  We were amazed how many people there were in the valley!!  It was just SO hot and after we realized it was 96 degrees, we felt better about how we felt as we were all getting so very tired!!  

We took a shuttle to a place for a picnic lunch but the bees were so bad it wasn't very enjoyable!!  And as we were getting on the packed shuttle to leave, the driver shut the door on Karen and the rest of us were already inside!!!  WHAT????  Luckily Amy was right in front of her and demanded that the shuttle turn around and go back and get her - what a rude driver he was!!

All in all a very fun day but it felt SO GOOD to get back to the cabin with the a/c!!!  We stopped at the little market to see what they had - a cute place with a LOT of groceries packed into the small place!!

I was up for dinner that evening and made tostadas with all the trimmings, along with some of the rotisserie chicken!  We ate outside at the picnic table which was fun and I captured this sunset through the trees!

A great day with hopes of cooler temps tomorrow!

To Be Cont'd......

Girlfriends' Trip - Yosemite National Park

 It was FINALLY time for the girlfriends' trip!!  Sometimes when you have to plan trips SO far in advance, it seems like forever before the time finally comes to leave!

We had decided to do the park right after Labor Day Weekend - thinking it would be a great time to go - surely there wouldn't be crowds this time of year - and as we watched the weather, it seemed to be perfect with highs of 82 degrees!!!

Boy were we wrong..........more on that later.......

I picked up Amy in Co. Springs and we headed to DIA - parking is always great at Park DIA and we were soon at the airport!!  Although I don't fly much anymore, it seems everytime I go that the airport is completely different than the last time I was there!!  And this year was no exception!!  Lines were super long for security and it took us about 1/2 hour to get through the line but we finally got up there!!  Even though we were doing carry-on luggage, security was easy!!!  I LOVE the fact that you don't have to take your shoes off anymore AND you don't have to take your quart bag of liquids out AND you don't have to take your electronics out!!!  (I just had a kindle anyway)  Of course not all airports are like this but DIA is always one of the first airports to try different things out!

A quick picture of Amy and I before I walk back to get coffee!

Unfortunately no Caribou for me as it would have meant taking the train back to another set of gates and the crowds were crazy - so I settled for this and it was just fine!

Our flight was good to Fresno, CA!  We had booked an aisle and a window seat, hoping it would NOT be a full flight but of course that didn't happen!!  Amy ended up sitting in the middle and the guy on the aisle lived in Fresno and had all kinds of tips about Yosemite so that worked out great!

The Fresno airport is small - like very small!!!  Of course that made it so nice as we had a 3 hour wait for Karen and Marilyn to fly in!!  We both grabbed a breakfast sandwich at the ONLY eating place after you get out of security!!  That's how small it is!!

We LOVED sitting among the trees in this beautiful lounge area!!

I had rented the car this year through Costco so we did get all the paperwork done in plenty of time (Amy was to be the added driver) so as soon as the other gals arrived, we headed out the door.  It was to take about 1 1/2 hours to get to our cabin!

Amy took the wheel and I navigated as we headed out!  I was TOTALLY shocked at the gas prices - WOW!!!!!!!  Even sent this pic to Glenn as he drives a diesel truck!

Because our cabin that I booked was actually inside of the park (which made it SO nice that we didn't have to wait in line each day to get in and of course we had a senior park pass that we showed on our way in at first) the closest restaurant was an hour away!!!!  We knew that wouldn't work as none of us drive at night anymore so we had made earlier plans to have each of us cook a meal each evening!  Stopping at a large grocery store about an hour away was the plan and that worked out fine!!  We had a main cart for water and our evening meals and then everyone bought their own things for breakfast and a lunch to pack!  Soon we arrived at our cabin!

The cabin was one of MANY in this tiny town of Wawona - there was a market you could get basic supplies at which was great!!  Our cabin was a 2 bedroom, 2 bath with a nice kitchen and dining area and a huge living room with a beautiful fireplace (which of course we didn't need - we needed a/c which the cabin DID have)  Also a large deck with 2 different areas to hang out!  After opening the doors to air it out as it did have a musty smell, we settled in and Karen started prepping for our first meal that night!

To Be Cont'd......

Labor Day Weekend

WOW - I just hit a wrong button and deleted this ENTIRE post that was all done!!  DANG!!  Well, time to start all over.......

We never go anywhere on Labor Day weekend due to all the traffic so I was happy when Jessi and Gwyn decided they wanted to come down - and then heard Kenzie and boyfriend Cam were going to come down also - and THEN, Gary and Evan decided to ride their bikes down when Gary got off work Saturday - a full house!! You can bet there were beds all over the lower level floor after everyone arrived!

Saturday morning was "special coffee" time with these two!!  It still surprises me that Gwyn loves coffee, but hey, she takes after her mom and me!!

Saturday night we had Jaime, Jarod and Rayna join us for dinner - Brad was hunting with friends from Missouri!

Sunday found us playing outdoor games - it was pretty darn warm out so we had to wait till the sun went behind the house!!

  

Kona loved running around - she's a really good dog and does NOT run off anymore which is great!!

Breakfast casserole for breakfast!

Evan and Gary went for a ride during the day!

Am I getting shorter?????  Gosh, I feel pretty short next to Evan with his high boots on!!

Sunday early evening we started the cornhole play - Glenn was the clear winner as he kept throwing the bags in the hole - time after time - it was starting to get ridiculous!!  But we all had a turn and had a great time!

I love the scoreboard a bought a couple years ago - and also the handsome guy keeping score - HA!

We finally made Glenn sit down and him and Gwyn roasted marshmallows on the propane grill!

This was meant to be a cute picture of most of us but Glenn decided to make a spectacle of himself - HA!

All in all a great weekend -  we missed seeing the Savages!!

August Photo Dump

 August is a month of the past now and we're into September - HOORAY!!!  Here's a few pictures to round out the month!!

I left my car at Jaime's as I rode with them to Laramie - hail came up on our phones so Rayna went out and covered my car with rugs to protect it!  HA!!  And of course the hail never showed up!!

Here's a close up of the coffee mug that Evan brought me back from Tanzania and he also brought Papa a tiny shot glass - it's cute as ever!!

And while we were up at Jessi's place, it hailed like crazy!!!!

Guess what - I got a new vaccum!!!  Yes, it's another Shark and I really like it - pretty much the same as my old one - and now I have a vaccum for each floor!

PALISADE PEACHES!!!  I only got 1/2 a case this year so not too many to put up!!  We enjoyed eating them and freezing a few!!  Next year I will definitely get a whole case!!

Another new item!!  Our indoor/outdoor thermometer bit the dust so we got a new one and I like it SO much better - it plugs in which is nice - we were always changing batteries in the old one!  Must have taken this picture right after my coffee break on the front porch as I always put the little table (which holds the outside control) in the sun to get a few rays!!!

And finally the August full moon - always pretty!!

And that's a wrap for August!