Dirty 30 in Yosemite :) - (Day 2)

Most of the days leading up to our trip to Yosemite had pretty much already been spent celebrating this particular day. My 30th birthday… my 30th year of life. A pretty momentous day…and on this day, amongst the trees, waking up in our little tent cabin where the “real world” seemed so pleasantly far away, my birthday felt more special than I could’ve ever imagined. Just me and Chad. In our little world…far from real life. Far from reality. Far from the stresses of our jobs and far from any financial concerns that waited for our return. This was my day. And I was spending it in the best way possible. On VACATION.

Our plans for the day included a trip down to the southern part of Yosemite…to the Mariposa Grove of Wawona.  Our nearly one hour drive there seemed to fly as we were graced with spectacular views and rounding corners that always made my heart stop beating..if only for a second as Chad channeled his inner Dale Earnhardt. 

Taking those turns like a CHAMP... while nearly giving his wife a heart attack!!

The longest tunnel I've ever driven through.. 

Areas where fires had taken the lives of these trees..

So sad, yet so beautiful all at the same time.  They stood there so sculptural and so proud. 

Once we arrive at the Mariposa Grove we were greeted by nearly 500 GIANT Sequoia trees. Our pictures don’t quite grasp the massive stature of these trees. Tree trunks, some spanning 40’ in diameter, were here, there and everywhere you looked.  It was a truly amazing sight.   

Named the Fallen Monarch, this massive tree fell more than 300 hundred years ago

The Fallen Monarch's root system

Look how tiny I look next to this MONSTER! 

As the sign states.. these three are called The Bachelor and his Three Graces

(insert silly infantile remark about even trees getting the ladies.. ;)

Can you spot me in this picture?  ;)  it's kinda like "Where's Waldo"?!

Walking path right smack in the middle of a tree trunk..  Kinda nuts.

 The Faithful Couple.  Two trees starting as one at the base...and splitting into two above

Awww.. aren't they a lovely pair?

 Looking through the Faithful Couple 

Taking a gander from the other side.. 

Crazy looking tree lovin' fungus.   

Hiking up the grove to find more sequoias. 

  Biggest ravens we'd ever seen! 

 Crazy blast from the past on our way back to Yosemite Valley

 Once again, amazing views all around

 Next up:  Lower Yosemite Falls

 Looks like someone is excited to get there!  :)

Apparently the falls rush harder and faster during the spring time when the winter snow has melted.  

 Bound and determined to find higher ground, Chad set out on a mission, while I took a moment to enjoy the view after making our way to the middle of the rock pile.  

If you look real closely, you might be able to spot a tiny speck of blue... CHAD!

 There he is!  Reappearing amongst the boulders.  Now which way do I go?
These boulders certainly do dwarf him don't they?

 My view out to our starting point.  I still can't believe how many rocks we had to climb and hurdle to get here!

But nothing can beat being this close to a waterfall!

 Finally finding the base of the falls.
Thankfully, the non-existent melting snow kept the water from being too high or the falls too strong.  

View of our trek back to the bridge.  :)  Happy Rock Hopping!!

Don't mind my fat, swollen, red, unmade up face...

but don't I have the MOST HANDSOME husband?!
Sorry ladies, he's all mine!  ;) 

We ended the night on a mission to test out our somewhat new camera's awesome capabilities.  Seizing the perfect opportunity to try to capture the night sky... (being as desolate as one can be in this place with no street lights and limited vehicle traffic) we took to the meadow across from Curry Village to see what our camera could do.  (Keep in mind that these next pictures are unedited in any way...so we think they came out pretty cool...we tried it again a few days later with better results as you'll see in our next few posts)

My super cool FLUKE. 

This picture was captured totally by accident cause it was so dark I couldn't see a darn thing

Isn't it awesome?!

Those streaks in the sky were planes flying by :)