Day 5: Wednesday (Weather or Not)

Woke up to another beautiful California morning. And yet we get the feeling that we may be playing a part in the end of California's drought. More rain today. But I get ahead of myself...

This morning's sky:

It has worked so well to get moving early and get to the park ahead of the crowds, so we did that again today. Bob's getting to be quite an expert on these curvy roads so the trip goes a little quicker-- except when we get behind a newbie who goes way under the speed limit. There are strategically spaced shoulder areas called "Turn Outs" for drivers who are tired of blocking traffic. One can pull over and let the faster cars go past safely. Most drivers use them. But not all.

Our plan for this morning was to catch the shuttle that would take us to the trailhead of the Mirror Lake Trail. We chatted with a group of three young men from Modesto who planned to do the SnowCreek Trail. After Bob took their "pre-hike photo" for them,  we exchanged stories of wildlife encounters and laughed together at the jokes of the shuttle bus driver who clearly enjoyed his job more than most of the other drivers we've had. It was a jolly start to the day.

The trail wasn't crowded, and even when there were people around, the sound of the rushing Merced River was louder than the conversations going on around us.  Yes, this was considered an easy trail, but it felt perfect to us today. 

We arrived before too long at Mirror Lake which apparently isn't really a lake all year round, but it is regularly fullest in the spring. And it's still spring here!

Here's why it's called Mirror Lake.

Pretty hungry when we finished this hike (we realize now that we did a hybrid of the short version of the hike and the 5-mile loop you can read about on the webpage linked above) so it was time for lunch. That's when we hit the Village Grill where the dogs and burgers were cheaper than at Hershey Park and the scenery immeasurably better.

We explored more of Yosemite Village, the touristy center but were underwhelmed. Perhaps after being so moved by all the nature, things for sale, and museum displays just had no shine. Besides, it was at this time that the skies were starting to cloud up and a few raindrops were falling. 

So before the rain began in earnest but after the crowds started to get a little more annoying, we headed for Oakhurst. Light and shadow are absolute magic in Yosemite Valley.

You probably don't care what we ate, but we kept it simple with soup and salad in our little cottage. I promise to include some photos of our accomodations sometime before we leave on Friday. You'll be jealous though, so I may wait on that. It's a really cozy place to hole up on a thunderous rainy afternoon.