This time last week I was driving back to Fresno after staying the night in the Yosemite valley floor.  I’d been trying to get to Yosemite since some dear friends moved to the area over a year ago.  This time, things worked out.  And with encouragement from another friend, I stayed one evening in Curry Village.

The trip started with a late morning drive from Fresno with my friends and an itinerary made by my friend.   The drive up (and down, actually) was beautiful.  And long.  So when we finally made it to the Tunnel View stop, I was both amazed and relieved.  The view was as beautiful as I had hoped.  From there, we drove past Bridalveil Falls and into the valley floor.  We parked one of our two vehicles at Curry Village and made our way to Yosemite Lodge for some rental bikes.  The rest of the afternoon was spent biking around the valley floor, where we ultimately ended up at Mirror Lake (which was neither thanks to the autumn weather).  From there we made our way back to YL, dropped off our bikes, and drove back to Curry Village for a pizza dinner.  My friends went with me to check in and check out my lodging for the night: a one-bed vinyl tent on a wooden platform with a metal locker outside for food and other things that might attract local bears.  At that point, my friends left and I did my best to settle in for the night.  I did some walking around that that point, checking out the general store and the communal lodge with its porch and comfy seating.  I wanted to see as much of the quiet night sky as I could, but everywhere I went I found talking people, cars still pulling in for the night, and flashlights shining in all directions.  Ah well.  I did get a better sense of the quiet night sky when I woke up to tip-toe to the communal bathroom after midnight.

The next morning started with a decent amount of sleep achieved.  I cleaned the tent up some and made my way to the lodge for breakfast: biscuits and gravy, eggs, and some Lucky Charms (a pleasant mixture of what I would usually eat at a camp).  I checked out of the tent and then made my way by foot to Vernal Falls.  It was quite the hike, but the view was worth it.  After making my way back to the lodge, I took a cherry Coke break and then took the free shuttle to a few different sites in the valley: the Ahwahnee Hotel, lower Yosemite Falls, and finally the El Capitan Meadows.  The meadows ended up being my favorite location, both because there were very few people there and because it had lots of trees along with the river.

At that point, I was pretty wiped out.  I had thought about ending my trip with a visit to Glacier Point (at the suggestion of my friend), but after starting on the winding road out of the valley, I decided that I wouldn’t stop until I was somewhere in Oakhurst (a town between Yosemite and Fresno).  I have to admit: I’m no fan of winding mountain roads without railing on the side.

Looking back, I think that Yosemite is more of a two-night stay.  I got a decent amount of site-seeing in.  And while the tent wasn’t the most comfortable sleeping arrangement ever, it also wasn’t that bad.  There’s also something cool about “village life,” as loud and flashlight-happy as everyone seemed to be.  It would’ve been nice having a “place to land” in-between hikes.

Yosemite is beautiful, and the valley itself is so engaging that sometimes you forget to look up and see the mountains around you.  I can’t imagine being there at the height of the summer season when things are super-crowded.  The “random Thursday in October” crowd was more than enough for me.  Not sure I’ll ever get back.  Either way, I’m really glad I was able to make the trip.  Beautiful places are great, and I’m glad to visit them when I can.