Today, we drove to Yosemite National Park to see the beautiful park in the winter and spend a few days enjoying the snow and the beautiful waterfalls. We started our drive to Tenaya Lodge, near the south entrance, at 6:00 p.m., but there was a lot of traffic on US-101 heading south.
After 30 minutes of driving on US-101, I realized I forgot to bring our skiing bag (with all the skiing clothes). We decided to continue our drive anyway, as there was a lot of traffic and we did not want to arrive so late. This was the right decision, as Badger Pass has only 28" of snow, and we decided against skiing there.
When we arrived around 9:20 p.m., the Sierra Restaurant at Tenaya Lodge was already closed for dinner.
A waiter at Jackalope's Bar and Grill allowed us to purchase some sandwiches in the nearby deli, and we ended up eating our "dinner" at Jackalope's. It surprised us that a significant restaurant would close at 9:00 p.m. on Friday!
After eating our sandwiches, we ordered a lovely, yummy ricotta cheesecake!
Valet car parking was free, and our rooms were pleasant and clean. The indoor pool smelled like it had too much chlorine, and we decided not to bother with it.
Inna wanted to try a massage at Tenaya's Ascent Spa, but the spa was booked for the weekend.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
When we woke up around 7:30 a.m., we decided to get breakfast and head to Yosemite Village. We were in a hurry and chose the buffet breakfast at the Sierra Restaurant. Sierra had two kinds of buffets available: healthy and non-healthy. The non-healthy version added bacon, eggs, and greasy foods to the fruits and pastries included in the healthy buffet. We both chose a healthy breakfast. The fruits were fresh, and the breakfast was OK, but nothing special.
We grabbed our hiking boots and cameras and started our drive to the Yosemite Village. On the way there, we made a few stops to take photos.
Our first major stop was at Tunnel View, a car parking lot with a beautiful overlook of Yosemite Valley.
Our second stop was at Bridalveil Falls. Bridalveil waterfalls are tall, and the short hike to the waterfall's base runs parallel to a stream. The waterfalls generated a lot of mist and rain, and we quickly got soaked, so we did not stick around too long.
We made a quick stop at the Swinging Bridges parking lot. There were a couple of ducks crossing the narrow stream.
There were lovely views from the Swinging Bridge.
Right by the bride is a large meadow, where we walked around.
We parked our car and decided to get lunch at the Ahwahnee Hotel before going on our significant hike to the Upper Yosemite Fall.
We ran into a deer munching on the grass in the main parking lot. He did not mind all the tourists.
We continued our walk to the Ahwahnee Hotel, where we decided to get lunch. Since the main dining room appeared closed, we had lunch at the Ahwahnee Bar. The food was delicious and prepared extremely fast. Inna had the Chicken Waldorf Croissant, and I had the Hot Pastrami and Swiss sandwich.
After lunch, we took the shuttle to the Lower Yosemite Fall. The walk to the fall was relatively short.
The Lower Yosemite Fall was quite crowded with people. A lot of mist was coming off, but not as much as at Bridalveil.
It was windy and cold here, and some mist was coming down. We did not stay too long, as we decided to hike the Upper Yosemite trail to Columbia Rock to get a nice scenic view of the Yosemite Valley below.
We found a few rock climbers climbing and rappelling on the way there.
The Upper Yosemite Fall hike was strenuous, with over 60 switchbacks, before reaching Columbia Rock. It continues for over 3 miles uphill, reaching the Upper Yosemite Falls.
Inna decided to take a rest stop.
After reaching Columbia Point, we enjoyed the spectacular views of Half-Dome and Yosemite Valley and then turned back.
Here is a breathtaking view of Columbia Point.
The way back was much easier and faster. Although it took us 2.5 hours to hike to Columbia Point, it took us only 1 hour to return.
Once we reached the bottom, we took the shuttle back to Yosemite Village, where we explored the Visitor Center and the Ansel Adams Gallery. In Ansel Adams Gallery, Inna found a great book on Yosemite photography - The Photographer's Guide to Yosemite by Michael Frye (which we purchased).
I got some great ideas of times and places to photograph, like the moon below.
We decided to head to the Ahwahnee Hotel and had our dinner at the Ahwahnee Bar.
The Ahwahnee main dining room was booked, even at 5:30 p.m.! (but it looked empty!)
We hurried to finish our meal at the Bar to take pre-sunset photos.
On returning to Tenaya Lodge, we stopped by a few spots to take photos of Yosemite.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
When we woke up around 8:00 a.m., we decided to get breakfast and then head back to Yosemite Village for a hike to Mirror Lake. Unfortunately, it was closed when we arrived at our usual Sierra Restaurant for breakfast. It turned out that Tenaya's Deli had a chemical refrigerant leak in the deli, and Sierra Restaurant was closed.
We decided to drive to Yosemite Village and eat breakfast there. Once we got there, we ate at Degnan's Deli (as all other restaurants were closed for the season). Degnan's had fairly horrible food and coffee (it reminded us of Yellowstone).
After breakfast, we boarded the Yosemite bus shuttle to stop #17 - Mirror Lake trail. This is a short 2-mile round-trip hike to Mirror Lake. It was an easy and picturesque hike with beautiful scenery all around.
The Mirror Lake trail is very flat and easy, with a paved road most of the way there. A stream runs by the trail with logs and rocks buried.
Inna decided to try her hand at rock climbing.
She failed to climb the giant rock but gave it her best shot.
There were lots of fast-moving streams and large boulders.
We finally got to the actual Mirror Lake.
The Lake certainly looks like a mirror.
After the hike, we returned to the Ahwahnee Hotel for lunch at the Ahwahnee Bar. The service was speedy, and we ordered a Hot Pastrami, a Swiss sandwich, and a Chicken Waldorf Croissant. The food was well prepared and delicious (as usual).
After lunch, we drove back to Mariposa Grove to see the giant sequoia redwoods. The trees were quite massive.
When we arrived around 9:20 p.m., the Sierra Restaurant at Tenaya Lodge was already closed for dinner.
A waiter at Jackalope's Bar and Grill allowed us to purchase some sandwiches in the nearby deli, and we ended up eating our "dinner" at Jackalope's. It surprised us that a significant restaurant would close at 9:00 p.m. on Friday!
After eating our sandwiches, we ordered a lovely, yummy ricotta cheesecake!
Valet car parking was free, and our rooms were pleasant and clean. The indoor pool smelled like it had too much chlorine, and we decided not to bother with it.
Inna wanted to try a massage at Tenaya's Ascent Spa, but the spa was booked for the weekend.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
When we woke up around 7:30 a.m., we decided to get breakfast and head to Yosemite Village. We were in a hurry and chose the buffet breakfast at the Sierra Restaurant. Sierra had two kinds of buffets available: healthy and non-healthy. The non-healthy version added bacon, eggs, and greasy foods to the fruits and pastries included in the healthy buffet. We both chose a healthy breakfast. The fruits were fresh, and the breakfast was OK, but nothing special.
We grabbed our hiking boots and cameras and started our drive to the Yosemite Village. On the way there, we made a few stops to take photos.
Our first major stop was at Tunnel View, a car parking lot with a beautiful overlook of Yosemite Valley.
Our second stop was at Bridalveil Falls. Bridalveil waterfalls are tall, and the short hike to the waterfall's base runs parallel to a stream. The waterfalls generated a lot of mist and rain, and we quickly got soaked, so we did not stick around too long.
We made a quick stop at the Swinging Bridges parking lot. There were a couple of ducks crossing the narrow stream.
There were lovely views from the Swinging Bridge.
Right by the bride is a large meadow, where we walked around.
We parked our car and decided to get lunch at the Ahwahnee Hotel before going on our significant hike to the Upper Yosemite Fall.
We ran into a deer munching on the grass in the main parking lot. He did not mind all the tourists.
After lunch, we took the shuttle to the Lower Yosemite Fall. The walk to the fall was relatively short.
The Lower Yosemite Fall was quite crowded with people. A lot of mist was coming off, but not as much as at Bridalveil.
We found a few rock climbers climbing and rappelling on the way there.
The Upper Yosemite Fall hike was strenuous, with over 60 switchbacks, before reaching Columbia Rock. It continues for over 3 miles uphill, reaching the Upper Yosemite Falls.
Inna decided to take a rest stop.
After reaching Columbia Point, we enjoyed the spectacular views of Half-Dome and Yosemite Valley and then turned back.
Here is a breathtaking view of Columbia Point.
The way back was much easier and faster. Although it took us 2.5 hours to hike to Columbia Point, it took us only 1 hour to return.
Once we reached the bottom, we took the shuttle back to Yosemite Village, where we explored the Visitor Center and the Ansel Adams Gallery. In Ansel Adams Gallery, Inna found a great book on Yosemite photography - The Photographer's Guide to Yosemite by Michael Frye (which we purchased).
I got some great ideas of times and places to photograph, like the moon below.
We decided to head to the Ahwahnee Hotel and had our dinner at the Ahwahnee Bar.
The Ahwahnee main dining room was booked, even at 5:30 p.m.! (but it looked empty!)
We hurried to finish our meal at the Bar to take pre-sunset photos.
On returning to Tenaya Lodge, we stopped by a few spots to take photos of Yosemite.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
When we woke up around 8:00 a.m., we decided to get breakfast and then head back to Yosemite Village for a hike to Mirror Lake. Unfortunately, it was closed when we arrived at our usual Sierra Restaurant for breakfast. It turned out that Tenaya's Deli had a chemical refrigerant leak in the deli, and Sierra Restaurant was closed.
We decided to drive to Yosemite Village and eat breakfast there. Once we got there, we ate at Degnan's Deli (as all other restaurants were closed for the season). Degnan's had fairly horrible food and coffee (it reminded us of Yellowstone).
After breakfast, we boarded the Yosemite bus shuttle to stop #17 - Mirror Lake trail. This is a short 2-mile round-trip hike to Mirror Lake. It was an easy and picturesque hike with beautiful scenery all around.
The Mirror Lake trail is very flat and easy, with a paved road most of the way there. A stream runs by the trail with logs and rocks buried.
Inna decided to try her hand at rock climbing.
She failed to climb the giant rock but gave it her best shot.
There were lots of fast-moving streams and large boulders.
We finally got to the actual Mirror Lake.
The Lake certainly looks like a mirror.
After the hike, we returned to the Ahwahnee Hotel for lunch at the Ahwahnee Bar. The service was speedy, and we ordered a Hot Pastrami, a Swiss sandwich, and a Chicken Waldorf Croissant. The food was well prepared and delicious (as usual).
After lunch, we drove back to Mariposa Grove to see the giant sequoia redwoods. The trees were quite massive.
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