I hadn’t been to Yosemite before and before going saw all sorts of warnings of needing snow tires in April and don’t take highway 120 and the best things to do are snowshoeing and skiing and all these things that got me nervous about going to Yosemite in the spring with a one year old. Turned out the winding roads of highway 120 were  clear (no snow tires needed, yay!) and the only issue was some of the roads weren’t cleared (which is usual there apparently, but Yosemite Valley was still open).

It wasn’t until the next day we ran into issues.

We had fantastic views along the highway into the park:

We found parking (getting there early in the morning) and packed Kaya’s 10 essentials…including diapers, wipes, sippy cup, bear hat, and a couple toys just in case (though we didn’t need him since she loved all the people watching and scenery).

We took the (very crowded) free shuttle to the Mirror Lake trail head. Kaya loves going into her carrier (after walking for a little bit by the trailhead and playing in the dirt and rocks, of course), especially being at head level with her daddy who plays games with her if she starts getting bored of the trail (which is thankfully rare for our own energy levels).

We enjoyed the hike to Mirror Lake and were impressed with the views!

In the back of the picture below is Dome Rock. I don’t have any pictures of me breastfeeding except this random one. In the 13+ months of breastfeeding I have fed her in some incredible places during our travels and it’s really forced me to stop and take in the scenery. I’ve had to learn to sit still (literally) and be in the moment so much better than pre-kiddo.

Alex doesn’t have a breastfeeding shot but I still like his pic 😉

On the way back we noticed a walker on the side of the road, leading into the forest, without anyone in sight. The rehab professionals in us knew that’s dangerous if they don’t have support and the outdoor enthusiasts in us just hoped they have a strong hand to hold and absolutely loved the sight of someone really getting into the outdoors who may otherwise not get around so well. I’d be the first to tell someone at a fall risk to use the correct assistive device and also the first to say…well, you’ve got to live life!

Another mobility challenge…we saw a family (presumably a dad and six young kids under 8 I would guess) walking down the road with a double stroller. Knowing how hard it was to cram ourselves with one kid and a hiking backpack into the bus we figured they got tired of waiting for the shuttle bus and just did the walk (as we were doing when we saw them, heading the mile between stops to our next hike).