Yosemite: snow, scenery, rafting and a fishing fail

Just driving up the mountain to our lodge was an experience in itself. The scenery here is epic, giant and beautiful, definitely not what we're used to in Texas. When Budget rental cars ran out of economy cars and handed us the keys to a convertible, we had no idea just how much of a boost our vacation was about to get. Helpful tip, Budget Rental Cars has an app so you don't have to wait in the line to get your car.

We wouldn't have even thought to rent a convertible on purpose, but it was an epic spot to have it. We'll definitely be upgrading to one of these on a scenic vacation like this next time. Imagine: it was cold, in May, there was a chance for some rain, the heater was blasting on our feet, the top was down and we chanced it. Driving through the thick forest up to Yosemite was absolutely thrilling. It's worth it.

We drove through patches of fog, the forest fire ravaged landscape set beside a massive, green, lush forest. Being able to look straight up at how big these trees are, while flying (safely) up the curvy, mountain roads, was so cool. Having the convertible made the travel an experience itself. 

First stop: Tenaya Lodge to drop our bags and settle in before heading out to see what Yosemite is all about. Tenaya Lodge had great location, close enough to Yosemite but low enough in elevation that we didn't get snowed in. We were there for a seriously amazing wedding on a terrace so we got a group rate. When I saw how much the rooms are typically, I was a little shocked, but I guess location, location, location. The rooms were totally fine, nothing spectacular, the restaurant serves some pretty delicious $18 hamburgers and has a full list of hot (and cold) cocktails. We hit the grocery store on our way to the lodge so we were stocked with cheese and wines which was lovely.

Top down, heat up, and we rolled into Yosemite National Park for this. Just breathtakingly epic. This is tunnel view. No hiking is required, you literally just drive through a long tunnel and exit to see this view. From this point you can see El Capitan, Half Dome (peeking out behind the clouds back there), and Bridalveil Fall.

From here we headed to Bridalveil Fall, where we got soaking wet climbing up to see the bottom of the massive waterfall. It was a fun and funny one, and an easy hike to get to. We were constantly having to jump running steams of water through the paths and watching the rushing river fed from the thundering waterfall ahead.

We brought our rain jackets and you should to, the mist from the bottom of the falls is more like a torrential down pour.

We were a little time crunched so we didn't get to see as much of the park as we would have liked, so we made the most of what we could see. Plus, the Glacier Point portion of the park, which we've heard is incredible, was closed due to snow and icy roads. We felt very satisfied with the amount of sights we got to see here anyways though so we didn't miss what we've never seen up there. Also, if you're going, be sure to note foggy parts of the day. On our way back past tunnel view, the fog and clouds had moved in blocking out all the amazing sites and it would have been a shame to go all that way and not be able to see all of this.

From there, we drove around, stopping at a few cut offs to get out and take in the spectacular views. It was fun having a little time to just meander around.

As far as wildlife goes, we saw a few chipmunks, this banana slug and deer. Our lodge told us we weren't allowed to keep any food in our cars, because, bears. But no bear sightings.

That night we ate and drank at the lodge, it started lightly snowing, but without sticking to anything. They closed the outdoor hot tubs but, still being set on hot tubbing, we found an indoor one that we shared with a middle aged Swedish man while sipping our wine out of the coffee mugs from our room before drying off, robing up and exploring the lodge.

The next morning we went white water rafting. Excuse the photo of a computer screen of a photo, it was too difficult to buy the photos. This trip was epic. It was my first time white water rafting and I kind of can't wait to do it again. We went through Zephyr Whitewater Expeditions, they provided wet suits, shoes, helmets and layers of jackets to keep us warm and dry. They were great, the trip was intense and a total blast. Rapids are ranked 0-5 and we had some 3s and 4s in our route. We sat in the front because we wanted all the action... we got it. We ended the trip cold, fully wet and laughing our asses off.

The next adventure was fly fishing and it was... an epic fail. Honestly, we would have been okay with not catching fish because we got to experience being in such a beautiful place... but our guide would literally not stop talking about weird shit the entire time. He also talked in third person, telling the story fully from each person (or animal) involved's perspective. We used Dave's Sierra Fishing, and I'm sure we just got bad luck with this guide, but maybe steer clear of them. I think we blocked it out and now we can't remember his name but it was something like Bogus.

Trying to ignore the nonstop monologue to appreciate nature... 

And this is me trying to distract the guide by asking him to take a photo of me on a rock so Kevin could get two minutes of peace to maybe enjoy fishing in such a lovely spot. It didn't last long. And once we both hooked a fish, we realized we had no idea what to do because he never even told us how you get a fish in when you fly fish. Face, palm.

At least it was pretty. 

The next day we lounged in bed until I finally got up, opened the window and saw THIS. SO MUCH SNOW. We literally ran out the door, down the stairs and outside. Ok Yosemite, we see you. Magical.

Talk about an epic last day. We were kind of worried we wouldn't be able to get down the mountain in this weather, but we went for it, and it didn't take too long for us to have dropped enough in elevation to have clear roads.

We are so grateful our friends got married in this amazing spot, so we had an excuse to make the trek out here and to experience all of this amazing stuff. We'll never forget it! And yes, that's a can of brut rosé in my hand. Cheers.