Magic Mountains

As we headed out the door for this trip, I truly expected the worst. Maybe it's some sort of defense mechanism that automatically kicks in after years of hit or miss vacations with kids, or maybe it was the fact that all three kids were sick, Stephen and I were getting sick and the weather forecast included pouring rain. DOOMED. Images of sleepless nights in a hotel room, mixed with images of three snotty, whiny, cranky kids being dragged around a place I wanted to quietly observe and appreciate filled my once eager mind as we hit the road and headed northeast. Oh well, at least we'd be together. And therefore suffer together, right?

We stayed in Sonora, a quaint little gold rush town nestled in the Sierra Nevada foothills (where about a million western movies have been filmed, I might add), and while I originally regretted this decision due to its 50 mile distance from Yosemite, in the end it was the perfect place to be. We needed options when the heavy rains descended and Sonora definitely provided some family-friendly things to do.


One hotel room for a family of five = kinda cramped, especially when every one of those five people is sick and the littlest sickie needs her own sleeping space. We made it work, however, by cramming Miss Millie and her pack-and-play into the already tiny bathroom, or more specifically the shower. We would have shoved her all the way in were it not for the dripping shower head. Go figure. Even with the drip, the incline of her awkwardly-balanced crib and a very loud creek running right next to the window, our poor little bathroom baby slept like a dream. Not only did she sleep well, she got better! Yes, even after being hiked around Yosemite in the freezing cold and packed around Sonora and Jamestown in the pouring rain. Who'd a thunk?

Seriously, there must be magical healing powers from the all the gold discovered or from the clean mountain air, because the boys somehow got over their ailments, too. Eli's nasty cold and cough disappeared, Bennett's stomachaches--that remember I thought were fake but then became real enough that we took him to the doctor and started to suspect lactose intolerance--disappeared, only after a cathartic puking session at the end of a very windy mountain road, and even we old folks somehow warded off the impending colds we'd arrived with. Never in a million years would I have thought the best sleep I'd had in months would come in a hotel room with my kids sleeping in the neighboring bed and bathroom.

Anyway, on to the pretty. We spent all day Saturday in YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK. The weather was clear and sunny and positively perfect for drinking up all of the breathtaking scenery that surrounded us.

First up: Short hike to Bridalveil Fall

Will the day ever come when all five of us are looking at the camera with our eyes open?

Bennett and Eli sure loved climbing the rocks to get closer to the falls

Bundled up with the long-awaited "SNOW!!!" in sight

El Capitan looking majestic and strong

Next up: Hike to the Ahwanhee Lodge

Happy little hiker

Beautiful and rustic Ahwanhee Lodge

The famed and very welcome fireplace

Upper Yosemite Fall

A dream come true for Eli (and us, since he's been talking about it since Christmas) -- a snowman