Family Yosemite Trip - Day 3 - Yosemite Valley

My second trip to Yosemite, first real view of the valley. 

Tunnel View is iconic, almost as cool as the long middle-of-the-mountain tunnel that leads to it, a perfect preview of where we're about to go. 

The valley is wonderful, but the sun is hot, and the half-mile walk to Bridalveil Falls is all we do with the kids. 

Great photos and a view at the end, watching the water shift with the wind, blowing up and aside like...you guessed it, the sheer beauty of a veil. 

Another photo op at this tented rock, though the kids cared a lot more about the squirrels. 

It's a beautiful visit overall, a lovely lodge and a fantastic time with family. I think we'll be back very soon. 

Fish Camp General Store - Fish Camp, CA

My brother Chris is the strong silent type, but when he talks you better listen. Because he is sweet and smart and incredibly kind, but best of all he is witty. He is the best at uttering a single line that sums up an entire situation, and he does it again right here. 

" At places like this, the food is either incredible or really, really awful," or something along those lines. He's more articulate than I make him sound. 

It's a cabin-style, self-sufficient building, painted rustic red. The inside houses a few rows of staples and several shelves of ready-to-go's, items like candy, chips, and jerky. There's also a refrigerated section, best for a beverage, and we grab some ice cold beer. 

The deli counter is staffed by a smiling woman, slinging sandwiches and pizza made to order. This Turkey Sandwich is delicious, scalloped layers piled high on a fluffy roll, customized with banana peppers, mustard, and cheese. There would have been lettuce, but we skipped it in light of the cyclospora outbreak. 

The Pizza has sausage and mushroom, and it really hits the spot. Chewy crust, an impressively even distribution of toppings over a generous heaping of cheese. It's all made with care, and it comes through in the taste. 

At a place like this, the food is either incredible or really, really awful, and at this particular place the food is just fantastic.

Family Yosemite Trip - Day 2 - Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad

Take a ride on the railroad if your kids are so inclined. The regular logger steam train will set you back $20 per child and $37 for each adult, but it's an hour of history in (gradual) motion as these heavy haulers are now repurposed for people. 

It chugs along at a crawl, taking you through the Sierra National Forest, a narrated one-hour trip with a brief break in between while they refill the water. 

Here's a view of the trees and a family that isn't mine. 

A lovely ride with the family and kids at a speed where those with motion sickness need not worry. Highly recommend for those with children who love trains. 

Family Yosemite Trip - Day 1 - Tenaya Lodge - Fish Camp, CA

Welcome to Tenaya Lodge. Tucked away in the fantastically-forested Fish Camp, I found the only resort I can stand to stay at. It's a nice one, luxury and comfort in a way that is not at all ostentatious. Check-in is inefficient as two receptionists serve a multiplex, so when an entire conference of people arrive all at once, they are wholly unprepared. The rooms aren't ready by check-in time, and half of them aren't assigned. But despite the obvious hiccups, the service you do get is good as the staff seem like they genuinely want to help. Bonus for the valets who got us our car in under five minutes every time. 

At least the reception area has chess while you wait. 

Our room is quite roomy and has a small balcony for watching birds and bats while we breathe in the warm mountain air. 

The one restaurant we can realistically eat at serves all-American fare. (More on that later). The ingredients are good, and they do prepare them properly. I wish they had more options, but this is par for the course when you're travelling with little kids. They do have other offerings, but the per-person rate of the barbecue "experience" doesn't price out when you have a kid who doesn't eat anything, and the pizza place is a long, sticky walk away. 

The pool situation is super, and every day we choose our own adventure between indoor and outdoor, both of which are heated. There's also a hot tub around every corner. 

The indoor pool plays movies in the evenings, and I must say, Lego Batman exceeded expectations. There's even a climbing wall and an archery range, and my favorite, the nightly roasting of marshmallows around the fire pit. The kiddos sure loved their first s'mores. 

Hiccups or not, we had a blast. This resort has a whole vibe, the kind where kids can kid and adults can adult, and everyone can coexist and co-mingle as they wish...right next to America's most beautiful national park.