Expedition to Yosemite

As a child, Karen frequently went to Yosemite with her family. Since Leah and I had never been, we decided to go on a family trip. We stayed in a hotel outside the park and took the 90 minute bus ride to avoid traffic and parking. On the bus, Karen commented that Leah wouldn't be due for a dirty diaper until the next day. Leah apparently took this as a challenge. Or maybe she just wanted the experience of having a scenic view during a changing. In either case, I was relieved that the dirty diaper happened at the beginning of the trip when there were benches and trash cans nearby.

As we started on the trail, Leah cried quite a bit. She didn't seem to appreciate how easy she had it. Her dad was carrying a baby, and her mom was carrying a baby maintenance kit (which weighs as much as a baby), but she was being pampered in her deluxe hippie baby carrier. Once we started to work up a sweat, Leah finally realized how cushy her situation was and went to sleep. Several fellow travelers asked us whether she would remember the trip, and I replied that this will be the most memorable nap of her life:

Leah woke up on cue as we crossed the river and enjoyed the scenic view of the rapids:

She enjoyed the granite stairway to Vernal Falls and the mist from the waterfall:

A few hundred feet further, though we were still a quarter or half mile from the falls, the trail became too wet for us to safely continue with a baby, so we turned around. It's amazing how much mist is produced by the falls and how far it is sprayed.

In the afternoon, we went to lower Yosemite Falls.  Again, Leah cried at the beginning of the hike, slept during the boring part, and woke up as we arrived at the falls.  Clearly she wanted a better view then was afforded by her hippie carrier:

Leah clearly enjoyed our trip:

For more photos, visit our Mountain View album.