Belo West Coast Trip 2013: June 15 Yosemite National Park

We got up early today so we could get on the road to Yosemite National Park located about an hour from our hotel in Merced. There was beautiful scenery along the way, which changed from rocks and fields to mountains and tall trees. We were excited to look out for different types of wildlife at the park, but were a little worried we might encounter a bear!

We arrived at the park, and we noticed the fresh mountain air and beautiful waterfalls surrounding us. We started out on a hike up Vernal Falls, a hilly walk to a huge waterfall. When we got to the waterfall, we spotted rainbows and cooled off in the waterfall mist. We also spotted many squirrels, and some of them were singing and eating!

After the hike, we had a bite to eat for lunch before we went rafting or biking. The rafters paddled down a peaceful river. Some of us splashed each other or swam in the clear water, even though it was very cold! One group was even sprayed by some little boys holding water guns! It was relaxing and refreshing after our morning hike. By the end of the afternoon, we had worked up quite an appetite!

We ate dinner together in the lodge cafeteria, where we were able to choose whatever we wanted to eat for dinner. On our way back to our hotel, we made one last stop to get pictures of the Half Dome - one of the massive cliffs in the park. It was a scenic outlook with tons of trees spread across the land with the sun setting across the rocks.

On our way back home, we sung songs and danced on the bus - Carleigh even danced with us! What a perfect day! We are excited to move on to San Francisco but we are sad that this will be the last city in our West Coast adventure!

Lory - Italy, Elisa - Italy, Pearl - Thailand, Nink - Thailand, Jenny - Germany