Yosemite National Park

Day 5:

Yosemite National Park

View from the trail to Mirror Lake

This week is National Park week, and to celebrate we wanted to enjoy one of the oldest National Parks! In 1890 Yosemite National Park was opened, so this year is the 125 anniversary of this beautiful park. It is the 3rd most visited National Park in the Country with almost 4 million visitors a year.

Half Dome

Lower Yosemite Falls 

The park had many sights to be seen. And with very little time we chose to take the shuttle around Yosemite Valley so that we could take everything in. We also chose to do a few short hikes as well so we could take in a few off road sights. The first being the hike up to the Lower Yosemite Falls and the second was the hike to Mirror Lake.

The hike to the falls was pretty short and really crowded. So I climbed over a few boulders and logs and made my way down to the stream so I could enjoy a little less crowded view. Plus a cute little squirrel came by to play! 

Mirror Lake...view from the rock dam

Then we chose to take the trail instead of the road to Mirror Lake. It followed a stream all the way up and led to some pretty amazing views! The upper lake is separated from the lower lake by a rock dam (basically there are a few rocks with some logs that have gotten caught). And this was our way across the lake to the road for the trip back down (plus one of the best pictures I got of the day)! Lets just say it was an adventure...but really whats new! 

Pileated Woodpecker 

El Capitan

Basically Yosemite is very hard to describe through words, so here are some pictures that kind of capture it. But basically, you really just need to come out and see for yourself! Or really, just get out and #findyourpark during National Parks week! I promise you won't regret it!