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The Baldwin Family's
Yosemite Overnight Vacation Review
Family tested
vacation get-a-ways in and around Southern California
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Overview
In August 2008 our family took a week-long vacation to
Yosemite valley. We have almost two hours of video clips we'll be adding
to this site over the next several weeks so you can see all the different
things there are to do in Yosemite. To start out with though, to let you
know how much kids love Yosemite we're first publishing the Yosemite
vacation review of our three kids, John, Matt & Elana who are 16, 15 and 9
years old.
Matt's Review
Elena's Review John's
Review
Matt's Review
First off, I’d just like to say that
Yosemite has got to be my favorite summer-place to go, EVER. I’ve
been there for a total of four summers now, three of them being
consecutive, none of which have ever been unsatisfactory. Yosemite is like
the Disneyland of the outdoors.
Totally Awesome Things You Don’t
Want to Miss:
1. Yosemite
Falls Hike
The Yosemite Falls Hike is, well, exactly what
it sounds like: A hike from Yosemite Valley all the way up to the top of
the Upper Yosemite Falls, which is about 5 miles of uphill trail and back.
I did this hike with John and my dad and it was rather difficult, but then
again I had just turned 13 and I had barely any experience with hiking.
And the fact that I was chubby back then, haha
:P. If you’re in decent shape with
plenty of water, it should be no problem.
 The
entire trip up there and back took the whole day – we left around noon
(which was a big mistake) and came home around 10:00pm; however we stopped
and hung out at the top of the falls for 2 hours. Before we started out
way back down we took a slight detour past the Upper Falls to get to
Yosemite Point, where there’s a STUNNING view of the entire valley and
beyond for just 30 minutes’ more hiking.
If you plan on going on this hike, make sure
it’s a time where there’s plenty of water in the falls. Last
year there was no water in the Upper Falls and only a tiny bit in the
Lower falls, and it sucked. You’ll also come across two VERY tiring series
of switchbacks hiking up. No worries, though, despite how tiring they are
they don’t last for long (to see it on a map,
click here).
2. Bike
Trails
Bring your
bike and ride it EVERYWHERE to get around in Yosemite Valley.
There’s no gas stations to fill your car up (there actually is, but you
have to whine and complain for about a day to use it, not to mention it’s
like 5 bucks a gallon), and taking the shuttle busses everywhere is for
squares. Anywhere where there’s a road in Yosemite there’s a bike path
next to it, so there’s literally no point to driving around. You came for
the wilderness and the crisp breeze in your face, not to be behind a
windshield.
The paths are simply fantastic. There
are wildlife and friendly pedestrians all out and about, and incredible
meadows with many prominent views of Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, and Half
Dome. If you’re staying at Yosemite Lodge (which I’d highly recommend),
riding from the Lodge past Curry Village to Mirror Lake is a brisk, casual
5-mile ride and back with the chance to stop and hang out at the lake and
to grab a bite of Curry Village Pizza on the way back. I did that same
routine for five days, and it never got old :].
3. Curry
Village Pizza
OH MY GOD.
This pizza is TO
DIE FOR!!!
The only biggie is that there’s always
a rather large line for it, because it’s the only non-restaurant source of
food for Curry Village (and the fact that it’s so good, of course
:D), but your vacation here at
Yosemite National Park is not complete without eating here at least
once. They also serve some amazing ice cream inside, which there’s almost
never any line for because it’s hidden from outside.
John and I rode our bikes here one day
and ordered a pizza with pepperoni, sausage, Canadian bacon, garlic,
jalapeños, and extra cheese: Manliest. Pizza.
Ever.
Random factoid: there’s always a LOT
of foreigners eating food at Curry Village for some reason.
4. Yosemite Lodge Food Court
Maybe I’m starting to tell you guys
something about me because listing TWO awesome things here as food
:P.
Don’t assume that because you’re in
the middle of a forested valley, you’re going to eat junky canned foods,
ohhhh no. Yosemite Lodge’s food court is open breakfast, lunch, and dinner
with the most delicious diversity of low-priced gourmet food ever. You can
eat three meals a day there for an entire week for under 15 dollars per
meal while getting something new each time. I have to admit – I start to
miss eating Carl’s Jr. and Hot Pockets when I eat such great food for a
week here in Yosemite.
They stop serving breakfast at 10:30am
and dinner at 9:00pm, though, so you can’t sleep in or be late to dinner.
Unless you’re the kind of guy that likes to wake up to a cheeseburger in
the morning, that is…
5. Yosemite Valley Floor Tour
This is a pretty nifty little tour
where you sign up and get into a roofless shuttle and enjoy a ride through
the valley while a tour guide tells you stuff for about an hour. I did
this with the family two years ago and it was pretty cool, but after the
first time it starts to lose its charm.
At the very top of the valley you can
get out and take pictures at a great photo stop for Half Dome and El
Capitan. And, well… that’s all there really is to say about this one
K.
 6.
Rafting
This has
BY FAR got to be the coolest part of Yosemite. You rent a raft
at Curry Village (or bring your own one), hop into the river with it, and
do whatever the heck you want after that until you reach the end about 3
miles of river away, get onto a bus back to Curry Village, and repeat.
Simplicity at it’s greatest, no?
Unfortunately the park occasionally
closes down the river for rafting, usually during mid-July due to lack of
water flow if it was a dry season (last year, for example
L). Call beforehand to see if
it’s available – it’s still worth coming even if it’s closed, but it’s
never the fullest experience without rafting the Merced.
 7.
Feeding the Squirrels
Yeah, it’s against the park rules,
blah blah blah. As long as you don’t make a total scene about it or feed
them MSG or lead, you’ll be fine.
It’s not fun unless you go totally
hardcore on the squirrels. Before leaving to Yosemite, go to Costco or
something and buy two HUGE bags of unsalted peanuts, strings, and jars. Be
a little creative and make an arena of traps and obstacles for squirrels
to navigate through in order to get a peanut, my personal favorite is
hanging a cluster of peanuts off of a tree branch and watching squirrels
jump and dive for them.
Animal cruelty? No, they get the peanut eventually.
Awesome? Yesssss.
Not-So-Awesome Things that You May
Want to Skip:
 1.
Long Horse Rides
UGHH. Maybe it’s because I’ve never
had a fetish for horses (I’m a ninja, not a cowboy), but the whole
riding-on-a-horse thing was rather choppy in my opinion.
First off,
they’re not horses. They’re mules, which is a horse that acts
and smells like serious ass (har har, a pun!). You arrive at the stables
and they show you a 10 minute movie that tries to scare you out of getting
on the horse, and for the people that are still left they get on and trot
away. It’s a straight line of about a dozen horses with guides at the
front and back, so if you’re in the middle, consider yourself screwed if
you want a tour of the scenery.
Have you ever heard the phrase
“stubborn as a mule”? If you’re assigned to a lazy mule, it will do its
job to defend his own mind by ignoring all orders you tell him to. It’s
hungry? It’ll walk off the trail and eat some grass. Tired? It’ll stop in
the middle of the road and do nothing. It takes about 20 minutes to break
the mule in and to teach it that it must follow what you say,
because the mule has much better things on its mind to do then walking the
same trail 3 times a day.
Our family took the 2-hour ride, and
we were all half-dead by the time got back to the stables. It was a very
fulfilling experience, don’t get me wrong, but to take the all-day horse
ride you are CRAZY. Trust
me; you’ll get enough of the cowboy-feeling off of just 2 hours of the
stuff.
And by any chance if you get the mule
named Felix, tell him Matt said hi (it was mine)
:D.
2. Bringing lots of juicy meat on
overnight hikes
BEARS LOVE HAM. Two years ago my dad
and I took an overnight hike up Half Dome, and we reached the very top
then went down to the base of it and set up camp for the evening. We
packed bread, cheese, and ham and made some mean sandwiches beside our
fire, and after we ate I got into my tent and went to sleep. About 5
minutes later, I’m woken up to “Matt! Oh my god… there’s a bear
outside!!!”
 Sure
enough, five feet away from us a huge bear is poking its nose into the
fiery remains of our crumbs in the campfire. We had absolutely no idea
what to do, so we started throwing sticks and yelling at it, which after
confusing the bear made it turn the other way and run. So what the
annoying park rangers tell you about stowing food away safely is very much
true, but what they don’t tell you is that fire doesn’t scare bears. But
either way, obey food storage safety, because it’s true (and consider
turkey sandwiches over ham…).
 Elana's
Review
The 5 Best Things About Yosemite
#5 HIKING
There are lots of places to hike in Yosemite that are
fun. This year I went on a hike that started at Yosemite Falls and ended
at the Ahwahnee Hotel. It passed the falls and the horse stables. A ranger
rode out of the stables in an emergency. I wonder what the emergency was.
 #4
WATERFALLS
Under the waterfalls there are streams and pools of
water to swim in. It’s so fun to be in the water.
#3 HORSEBACK RIDING
The horse back riding is very fun. You can ride horses
for as long as you want.
 #2
THE AHWANHEE
The Ahwahnee is the best place to eat. It is a big
hotel, and it has lots of stuff to do.
#1 THE MERCED RIVER
The Merced River is the funnest place of all. I like the
spot under the bridge by Curry Village. The water is deep so you can swim
or if you stay near the shore, it’s not too deep. It’s an awesome place.
 John's
Review
The first thing I think of when we take our annual trip
to Yosemite National Park is getting to see all of the different animals
and sights that Yosemite has to offer. My personal favorite ways to
interact with the park is to stay at the Yosemite lodge with a ground
floor room facing the back into the forest so you can see all the
squirrels, deer and blue jays running and flying around.
Another excellent way to see all the sights and explore
the area is to take a open ground tour where you get on a type of bus
trailer with no roof or sides so you can see all around you and take
around a 2 hour grand tour all through Yosemite valley having a guide
explaining all the significant sights your currently seeing. Or if you're
not interested in being in the sun for awhile on the open ground tour, you
can ride on the free shuttle busses around the valley and the drivers
point out the views as you pass them. (Note: the shuttle busses don’t go
through all the sights such as Bridal Veil Falls and El Captain)
 Also
if you're up to seeing all the sights up close and in person you can take
an easy 1/2 - 2 mile hike around to the scenic lakes and waterfalls (all
the short hikes are paved with the exception with the “side routes” that
connect with one scenic site to another, but are still very easy to
maneuver). Or you can take the more rigorous hikes like to the top of Half
Dome or to the top of Yosemite Falls (5+ mile hikes, quite steep, with
unpaved/rocky paths, but don’t be discouraged, as I’ve personally seen
families with 7 year old kids going up to Upper Yosemite Falls)
 Another
thing I greatly enjoy doing at Yosemite is taking the Watercolor class. I
hate coloring, I’m not at all artistic (in my opinion) and I would never
take out any type of markers/colored pencils/paints in my own house and
start painting for fun. But I really enjoy doing the watercolor class
because you get to sit outside and look at the
mountains/forests/rivers/waterfalls or wherever the watercolor teacher
wants to paint that day while meeting and talking to different people
finding out where they're from and what they do and so on.
Another fun thing to do is to do brunch at the Ahwannee
hotel. All you do is pay to get in for each person and there’s a HUGE
buffet of just about every breakfast food item you could think of, garlic
potatoes, hash browns, all types of eggs, sausage and bacon, little
breakfast tart thingys and a whole buncha other stuff.
Or if your looking for a more relaxed, outside
environment there is the Curry Village Pizza patio restaurant which has
“Amazing” pizza and Ice cream with lots of squirrels to keep you company.
So, to sum up everything I have previously said, here is
a list of everything I’d
 recommend
doing at Yosemite in no particular order:
- Visit the bottom of Yosemite Falls or Bridal Veil
Falls
- Take the Open-Air Ground tour
- Participate in the Watercolor class
- Have brunch at the Ahwannee/ Have some Curry Village
Pizza
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