There is no point in me going on and on about our day to day visiting the main attractions of Yosemite... so, I'm just gonna hit you with the highlights and cover the various activities that are available... Ready? Let's do this.

Yosemite as a tourist (not a backpacker) in the month of June may be one of the most frustrating experiences I have had. Though Yosemite is very beautiful, and I enjoyed my time there... I have no desire to go back during the height of the tourist season. The place is packed!!! To the brim!!! Hotels are booked solid, there is no parking and everywhere you look there are people.... in my opinion it defeats the purpose of being in nature.... You know what I mean?? That time to immerse yourself in God's beautiful creation, find your center, and just unwind and relax. If you think your time in YNP will be relaxing in June, you may be mistaken... It's like Disneyland. ...but there are no churros. Thankfully, it is more spread out, but the parking is an absolute nightmare, traffic is constantly backed up, and the buses are maxed out with people trying to get from point A to point F, and the bus lines require waiting for possibly an hour.

So if you can go, go before kids are out of school, or when they are back in. Maybe, when it's cold. The waterfalls may not be in their full glory, but there will be more room for you to enjoy them. Winter, when the ground is covered in snow, also, sounds magical.

Here are some of the things we did while in the park.

Walk around Yosemite Valley. We were fortunate enough to find parking outside of the Village store, which was almost as difficult as actually backpacking through the park. We headed through the shop full of souvenirs and groceries where we later picked up a variety of souvenir tees & camp cups. The walk around was really enjoyable. In June it was quite warm, but it was nice to be out of the car. We walked down the bike/walking path stopped into the Ansel Adams Museum, and visited the Visitor Center while we continued our walk toward Yosemite Falls. It was lovely & the oncoming mist was incredibly refreshing in the warm air. However, I was very excited to get past the falls. Once again, there were just too many people for my liking. (I should note that I don’t thrive in crowds. They make me uncomfortable and can give me anxiety – so take my notes with a grain of salt if you are the opposite.) We continued on our nature walk around the grounds and eventually headed back to find a place for lunch. We stopped in at the Mountain Room Restaurant & Lounge. It’s safe to say the food was subpar in the lounge. I actually sent my chili back as it wasn’t even hot enough to melt the cheese on top. I was greatly disappointed, and instead of ordering anything else, I just nibbled off everyone else’s plates & decided to hold out for dinner at the hotel. The food my mom had gotten from the Yosemite Valley Lodge Food Court when we she picked us up post-backpacking was far better, and seemed fresher. ...but that also, may be because I was dying for real food when I got in the car.

Visit The Majestic Yosemite Hotel. If you aren’t staying here already, this is a great place to stop in for lunch at the Majestic Yosemite Bar or dinner at The Majestic Yosemite Dining Room. The food is far superior to that in the valley. The interior is very cabin-tastic, historical, and interesting to wander through. The grounds are beautiful & it’s easy to walk through parts of the park from there. We found our way toward Mirror Lake across from Half Dome. We were able to wade in the water up to our knees to cool down our bodies down and shrink our feet before wandering back.

Explore the great Sequoias. There are 3 groves within Yosemite NP that you can explore. Tuolomne Grove ( this is the one we visited), Merced Grove, and the biggest and most famous Mariposa Grove. These light nature hikes are a great way to get some quiet time, a little work out & time away from the crowds and, of course, marvel at some of the largest and oldest trees on the planet.

Just drive. See what Yosemite National Park has to offer. With miles and miles of winding roads, scenic views, and possibly some great wildlife sightings you can’t go wrong with a packed picnic lunch & a little wanderlust.

Technically, we hiked past Vernal & Nevada Falls on the last leg of our backpacking excursion, but it’d make for a great day hike too. Be forewarned, the Mist trail is very packed. However, the closer you get to the top, the less crowded it is. The bulk of the people stop between Vernal Falls (lower) & Nevada Falls (upper) sunbathe on the flat rocks and take in the scenic views near the railings. This hike up is probably pretty tiring as it has a lot of steep steps covering the incline, but the way back down is fun. …and Vernal Falls does provide a nice cool down of mist along the way.

Enjoy dessert with a view. At the Mountain Room Restaurant you can sit in the dining room enjoy a sweet treat or a full meal with the possibility of watching Yosemite Falls in it’s fully glory. One of my dad’s favorite things…

There are other things that you can do while you are in the park such as climbing the rock face of El Capitan or Half Dome. You can, also, attempt the rigorous hike up Half Dome’s backside, feel free to be just an onlooker of rock climbers, get a massage at the lodge, camp in one of the park’s campsites, day hike some of the many trails. The list probably goes on and on with things like bird-watching… but that’s the most I can come up with right now.

Hopefully this will be helpful for planning your upcoming trip to Yosemite, and hopefully you will enjoy it’s beauty as much I did… maybe even more!

ISSUE 44: Yosemite National Park, CA 2017 (The Tourist Issue)