Yosemite Day 1

Our buddy Cooper started Stace's birthday early, when he generously gave him his Lego Imperial Star Destroyer. Wow!

Stace was thrilled to find it on the doorstep Saturday, while we all were getting ready for our Yosemite adventure with Cooper and his family.

We began our trip Sunday morning, leaving home around 9:30 and reaching Pam and the boys at her aunt's home in Visalia two hours later. They had spent the night there to visit with their extended family.

We embarked, stopping for lunch in Fresno and then entering Yosemite around 3. We then headed into the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, with its beautiful trails and visitors center. The visitor center and parking lot had reopened two days prior to our visit, after a yearslong renovation.

The ancient trees are amazing, reaching over 200 feet into the sky.

Stopping also gave the kids a chance to run around, stretch their legs and climb rocks and logs.

(Thanks to Pam for this one - and many more over the trip! This photo makes me smile - these kids are good friends, but actually touching each other friendly-like for a photo is a big stretch. There's a lot of cooperation going on behind the scenes here!)

We spotted a deer in the Mariposa Grove, but too far away for a good photo. Our next stop revealed this pretty creature.

We had pulled in at the Tunnel View area, just after a l-o-n-g tunnel, after which you're faced with the most gorgeous view of Yosemite's highlights.

The three big kids were a little more interested in climbing the hill behind us, finding the deer and sliding down the rock face.

We adults were fascinated by the view, however.

 Our next stop took us to Bridalveil Falls, our first waterfall of the trip. It was pretty!

From there, we drove into the Yosemite Valley, got checked into our lodging, and started the unpacking process.