Sometimes life has a different plan than the one we had made. The Little Dude has just finished Kindergarten and its time to take a trip to celebrate. We had plans to go international, but Mama Pilot injured her knee and cannot walk very well.
We scan our list of where to next places and Yosemite sticks out. No way were going to be able to plan a trip to Yosemite same week with a hotel. The weather was good for the week and the California wild fires hadn’t begun yet. Amazingly we were able to book 3 nights at a resort just outside of the park.
The next logistical challenge; which airport could we use within a reasonable distance and rent a car. We must have a car to see the park.
The airports closest to the park are: MMH: Mammoth, MPI: Mariposa-Yosemite, E45: Pine Mountain Lake, O22: Columbia, or FAT: Fresno.
All the airports are open and big enough for landing, but it was impossible to find one with a car. MMH? Tioga pass closed. MPI? sold out of cars. O22 and E45? Hertz no longer delivers cars to those airports. KFAT? They have cars, but it is also 2:40 to drive to the resort we found. (The flight is about the same from Bend, OR) but it looks like that’s the only option.
But fate stepped in! Our good friend Baker was going to the area too and his dad had a Jeep at Pine Mountain Lake we could borrow- did i say it was meant to be? Pine Mountain was only a 25 minute drive from Rush Creek Lodge.
We left home and spent one night in Bend and the flew Bend to Pine Mountain. Like previously mentioned the flight was about 2:45, not to bumpy for leaving mid day! At the airport we grabbed the Jeep and loaded our stuff. The Rush Creek Lodge was close and it was an amazing place to stay. They had a huge play ground for the kids, pool, playroom restaurant and a store on site. The only downfall was it was on a very large hill, so more walking than normal.
The timing of year to visit the park was impeccable! The snow melt was still going strong which meant the waterfalls were stellar. The days we spent in the park exploring: Hetch Hetchy, The valley floor, which included an open tram tour of Bridal Vail Falls, El Capitain, and Half Moon. While in the Valley we enjoyed lunch at the Majestic Lodge (soon to go back to its original name Ahwahnee. We of course brought our National Parks passport and got our stamp at the visitors center too!
The second day we traveled to the south side of the park, about 1:30 minute drive. We went for a ride on the Sugar Pine Railroad. While the history of the railway was being explained, we enjoyed the ride through the forest. After, we went to the Mariposa Grove of the Giant Sequoias. There we walked the forest amongst the famous Grizzly Giant and the California Tunnel Tree.
The resort was perfect for relaxing in the evenings. After our all day adventures it was nice to have a place to come back to relax, swim, have dinner and s’mores. We even got to have dinner with our friends the Baker family. Adventures are always better when you get to see friends!
This last minute trip turned out to be one of our best adventures yet. If we had to plan it again, we would stay at the same place. If we needed to rent a car we would fly into KMPI.
We still have to return to visit the east side of the park.
