I’ve loved sharing long form, researched blog posts over the past years – but lately I’ve also been craving the ability to share more in the moment snippet of my life with you! And so, here is the first weekly journal entry of (hopefully) many more to come, starting with my little adventure to Yosemite National Park.
Last week, I snagged a last minute reservation to Wawona Campground. I booked it without really planning anything through, and called my mother to let her know that we would be leaving to Yosemite in a few hours! I got home and packed a few things into a bag, loaded up the husky, and headed east.
It was my first time driving to the Southern Gate, and to be honest, it was a pretty boring highway drive until we reached Cathey’s Valley.We stopped about an hour outside town to fill up the tank with gas, and all of a sudden my car died! In what was nothing short of a miracle, a very kind local saw me on the phone with the hood up, and offered to help. He lived just a few miles down the road and had both the tools and expertise to fix the car.
By the time we finally pulled into our campground, it was well after nightfall and we fell asleep pretty much the moment the tent was assembled. In the morning, we woke up to discover that we were at what was truly one of the most beautiful campsites I’ve stayed at, right on the banks of the Merced River!
We got going right away, starting with a big (and well deserved) breakfast at the Wawona Hotel.
From there, we walked across to the Wawona Meadow Loop, and actually had to turn around about halfway to make way for a resident black bear who wanted to share the trail!
By then, the day was already starting to heat up, so we grabbed a sandwich at the little general store and took our picnic lunch to the river banks. We followed the foot trail from there through fields of lupine down to Swinging Bridge, and spent the rest of the evening reading on a big slabby rock while groups of families splashed around in the water. It was perfect.
We got back to our campsite just before sunset, where we met a small group of international hikers who were about halfway through the Pacific Crest Trail. One of them had fallen ill, and none of them had a campsite reserved for the night. We invited the to share ours, and spent the evening trading stories over the campfire with smores.
Early the next morning, we bid farewell to our newfound friends and headed up the Chilnualna Falls Trail. It was nothing short of spectacular – fields of wildflowers and giant redwoods lined the trails, with not a single other soul on the trail the entire way up.
And the views from the summit – my goodness!
By the time I made it back down, I was exhausted. I grabbed a little sandwich and a giant bottle of water from the corner store, changed into my swim suit, and spent the afternoon floating in the river. It was ice cold from the snowmelt, but in the hot afternoon sun it felt so good.
After an hour or two, I finally managed to peel myself away from the river to head back home. We stopped in Mariposa along the way for an early dinner and stumbled upon the cutest little diner.
Happy Burger Diner is run by a little husband & wife duo – they’re dog friendly, kid friendly, farmer friendly, wheelchair friendly, and have both an all-day senior discount and a daily free coffee hour for military members & spouses. They also serve what might just be the best burger I’ve had in the state of Califronia.
But seriously – if you’re driving through Mariposa, don’t sleep on this place!
