The Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias

I know, I know there are a lot of Giant Sequoias in Yosemite. I hope you're not tired of looking at them. I know I never got tired of seeing them.

This is the Mariposa Grove.

This squirrel was the coolest. He didn't care one bit that I was sticking my lens in his face. And he was going at that pinecone like a corncob.

Road Trip Randoms

I should have posted these ones first I guess. I didn't take a lot of pictures on the way and here are most of them.

I like this New Mexico sign...and the mail truck under it. The yellow sign in the left says "slow down my mommy works here".

New Mexico felt the need for two large signs, just in case you missed the one you just drove under at 45 mph because of being stuck behind a semi in a construction zone. Bitter? What, I'm not bitter.
Pouty Andrew. True story: as soon as I say the words "smile Andrew" this is what I get.

The last one is pictures of the mountains by our hotel in Bishop, California. I forgot to take a picture of that one, it was really cute.

Our Cabin and Bridalveil Falls

Our cute little canvas sided cabins. Adorable to look at. Useless for bear protection or cold protection. At least they give everyone bear lockers. By the way, Andrew is finally wearing his pack and not mine. : ) For the amount of beds in this cabin, 3 twins and 1 double, you'd think they could provide better blankets. Thank God and Andrew's mom for making us blankets every Christmas otherwise we would have froze and become a sick kind of bear popsicle.

Deer by the bathrooms

Since Yosemite Falls was not working we had to settle with checking out Bridalveil Falls. Which was very wispy, but pretty. We walked the 1,000 feet (Yosemite is big on distance) to the falls from the parking lot.

This picture makes me giggle. Like a lot.

I'm not sure Andrew thought this was an adequate substitute for the great big Yosemite Falls across the valley... but oh well. We'll have to go again some time, shucks.

Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias

The Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias was our first hike of the day in Yosemite. By hike, I mean two miles round-trip. A little jaunt through giant trees, no big deal.


Until we realized as we headed farther and farther down the trail that we were going downhill... a lot. It started to dawn on us that coming back might not be super fun.




Just want to point out that Andrew has stolen my pack...


This man, by far the funniest thing we saw in Yosemite, decided his cat needed a hike to the grove. And here it is Cat Man.












Thinking back now about the hike back up, it was worth it. The grove was pretty, the trees are impressive. But, if you had asked me at the top of that hill...uh, I would have said something different, probably with a few choice words.

Counting Down

I'm starting to count down the days until Andrew is home. By home I mean Minnesota and mostly, with me.

I was telling my mom after I got back from my trip with Andrew how for me, home is where Andrew is. As we went from state to state, every new location became home. Every day in the car, every night in a different hotel, every second spent with him I was home.

It really felt amazing being able to spend that uninterrupted time with him.

My life with Andrew has been a journey. It was fate that I moved 1500 miles from California to meet him. A new adventure everyday.

I'm looking forward to this next part with him. Moving out-of-state with him for the first time.
I am so happy to live under the same roof as him for almost 10 months.
Nervous to live in a state neither of us has been too.
Excited to experience life in the East. (Now, I'll have lived in 3 time zones).
Relieved to know that I have someone to cook for again, someone who will tell me it's delicious even if it's not.
Grateful that he can take out and walk and play with our dog again (and give me a break).

Most of all, I'm ready. I'm ready to start this next adventure, next step in our life...Come on November, hurry up.

Glacier Point

Glacier Point is the best view of Yosemite Valley. If you want to see everything at once from way up high...this is the place to go. You can hike up 4 Mile Trail, up sheer cliff and switchback after switchback..or drive up the mountain.

(Below: Not actually from Glacier Point, but from Tunnel View.)


I take amazing pictures of Andrew, and him of me...not so much. He took a picture of me and it looks like I'm a T-Rex ready to climb(and destroy) Half Dome. Maybe one day I'll share it.

Can you find what is missing in that picture? I couldn't tell in person, since I've never been to the park. But when Andrew realized that a giant waterfall was missing from the landscape he was not happy. That's right. Yosemite Falls was not working.

It was really busy up here at Glacier Point, given the view and the accesability. There's a shuttle and a bus that will bring you up here. And a gift shop and cafe. This was one of the busier places we ended up and we prefer the quieter ones. This view would be awesome at sunrise, but we had other plans for sunrise.