Fall Carbon County ATV ride

 The past week we went to California for Ty's family reunion at Shaver Lake. We drove through the night Tuesday and mistakenly our gps took us a crappy route by Highway 6 and through Yosemite... so it was slow going and a tad scary! I saw two deer on the road on our way that Ty totally missed! Woah! I was super sad that we drove through Yosemite and I couldn't see anything so we determined to go on our way home from the trip! So Saturday we woke up superrr early to have time to make some stops! so here we go....

 Not 30 min. driving in the park and we see a cub black bear climbing a tree barely off the road! I made Ty turn around to snap a picture because really.. how many times do you get to be so close to one of these cute little guys? If nothing else went well... going back this long way made the trip worth it to me!


We started the main loop with Bridal Veil Falls which was much weaker than it normally is... but the water dumping over the edge of a very tall and steep granite cliff was cool enough as it was!

 Then a little more down the road we saw a group of about 4 bucks and a few doe! Amazing! I've never seen bucks up so close either! They're so majestic! Ty and I were both thinking at this point forget Yellowstone, we've seen a ton of wildlife in Yosemite which I find much more interesting!

 We decided, even though totally unprepared, to go on a moderate- vigorous but short hike up to Vernal falls at the end of the main loop. The first half to 3/4s wasn't too bad but it also wasn't terribly interesting as we were in the trees for a lot of it. But the granite walls we saw were incredible!

 Here's like the half way point maybe? In the far, far distance you can sort of see Vernal Falls!







Below: In case you couldn't... I zoomed in here. haha

 We got a picture together on the bridge because I wasn't sure we'd get a nice picture together in front of the falls.... we did, but the river behind us still looks pretty nice.

 I loved hiking along the river as it trickled around  these huge granite boulders! There were tons of mini falls that I thought were beautiful and the sound of running water was so peaceful... even though as we hit the climb up and started sweating... we really wished we could go for a swim!

 I felt pretty tough for doing this hike in a skirt which greatly inhibited large steps (not fun on these large granite stairs as for many of them I had to turn my hips and step sideways awkwardly up the steps. haha) We were definitely sweating as these stairs weren't easy! But it was so worth it!


We did end up getting a more decent picture right in front of the falls! They were so beautiful close up, even though they were weaker than normal as well.

 Finally we got to the top! It's amazing how close you can get to the edge of the waterfall, you can look right down the cliff! Ahhh so awesome!

 We tried to do the short walk to Yosemite falls after that, but not even a quarter of the way there we found out that they were completely dry... lame, so we just headed back to the car. In the parking lot however there was an awesome view of half dome! Totally doing that hike next year! Soooo excited!

The drive back through yosemite though super long (over 75 miles...) was soo beautiful! I put on soundtracks such as Princess Mononoke, Pirates of the Carribbean, and Dinosaur( really awesome nature music) and Song of the Irish Whistle! The view points were great, the trees super tall, the sun shining warmly, and going the perfect speed to have our windows rolled down to enjoy it all. Made me really wish I was in a convertible!

The lakes we passed were so beautiful! I decided my new passion in life is to invest in kayaks, camp near some of these lakes, and spend weekends exploring them in the warm sun. We could even bring Ollie! Soo excited :]

The rest of the drive back was even pleasant, and we finished reading Peter and the Starcatchers.. super good book that everyone should read!





Anyways more on California... Shaver lake was gorgeous! And the weather was surprisingly great seeing how high in elevation we were. I loved seeing all my baby neices and nephews! So glad we got to go and see them as well as meet Trenton who just got home from his mission! The whole trip was very nice even though I hardly did any boating (bum ankle.. and to be honest no interest in either tubing or wakeboarding..) but it was fun! Can't wait for future trips in the years to come!