We were planning to spend the weekend in Yosemite, so we drove up yesterday (Thursday) with our friend Michael (in his car), and spent the night outside the park in Oakhurst. That way, we only had about an hour's drive this morning to get to the valley. We stayed at the Best Western Yosemite Gateway, which was much nicer than any Best Western we had ever seen. The lobby had beautiful high-beamed ceilings, and there was an indoor pool (heated) and jacuzzi.
After breakfast in Oakhurst we headed in to the valley to check in at the Yosemite Lodge where we were staying. As we had done the night before in Oakhurst, we were sharing lodgings with another couple, Bren and Clint. We originally had separate accomodations, but the recent rockslide in Yosemite took out several cabins, one of which was ours. We were grateful to have friends who were willing to share. After checking in, we went with Michael to Mirror Lake. Because Shannon is six and a half months pregnant, we were able to drive almost all the way to the lake, saving over two miles round trip.
Mirror Lake really lives up to its name, reflecting the sky, the rocks, the trees and all the other beautiful surroundings. It is filling in with silt, and the park service is now letting nature take its course, so we were glad to see it while it's still there. We had an unexpected surprise on our hike around the lake, when two other hikers pointed out a couple of black bears - a mother and her cub. They were only about 50 yards from us, and we all stood there watching in awestruck silence. We didn't feel in danger, as they were obviously heading the other direction. Neither of us has ever seen a bear in person before.
We had dinner at the Ahwahnee with Michael. We heard from more than one person that if we were coming to Yosemite, we must eat at least one meal there, and now we know why. The dining room has incredibly high ceilings and reminded us a bit of the main dining hall at Hogwarts. The food was fantastic, and the views out the window before it got dark were spectacular. It was well worth the trouble we went to in packing and changing into dressy clothes to meet the dress code. We will definitely come back here next time.
We were planning to spend the weekend in Yosemite, so we drove up yesterday (Thursday) with our friend Michael (in his car), and spent the night outside the park in Oakhurst. That way, we only had about an hour's drive this morning to get to the valley. We stayed at the Best Western Yosemite Gateway, which was much nicer than any Best Western we had ever seen. The lobby had beautiful high-beamed ceilings, and there was an indoor pool (heated) and jacuzzi.
After breakfast in Oakhurst we headed in to the valley to check in at the Yosemite Lodge where we were staying. As we had done the night before in Oakhurst, we were sharing lodgings with another couple, Bren and Clint. We originally had separate accomodations, but the recent rockslide in Yosemite took out several cabins, one of which was ours. We were grateful to have friends who were willing to share. After checking in, we went with Michael to Mirror Lake. Because Shannon is six and a half months pregnant, we were able to drive almost all the way to the lake, saving over two miles round trip.
Mirror Lake really lives up to its name, reflecting the sky, the rocks, the trees and all the other beautiful surroundings. It is filling in with silt, and the park service is now letting nature take its course, so we were glad to see it while it's still there. We had an unexpected surprise on our hike around the lake, when two other hikers pointed out a couple of black bears - a mother and her cub. They were only about 50 yards from us, and we all stood there watching in awestruck silence. We didn't feel in danger, as they were obviously heading the other direction. Neither of us has ever seen a bear in person before.
We had dinner at the Ahwahnee with Michael. We heard from more than one person that if we were coming to Yosemite, we must eat at least one meal there, and now we know why. The dining room has incredibly high ceilings and reminded us a bit of the main dining hall at Hogwarts. The food was fantastic, and the views out the window before it got dark were spectacular. It was well worth the trouble we went to in packing and changing into dressy clothes to meet the dress code. We will definitely come back here next time.
