Yosemite National Park

People. Usually, we are surrounded by such beauty and the company of one another that it is truly, surprisingly enough, but sometimes, God knows just what you need.

Our drive to Yosemite was difficult. Actually, difficult is an understatement. Our precious children found ways to entertain themselves for hours on end while mommy made a few directional errors. I felt avoiding big cities to reach Yosemite would be best as big cities and a 35 foot RV don't mix well. I chose instead HWY 375, a straight, flat stretch to Yosemite. As we began our route, I realized we were embarking on the Extraterrestrial Hwy. You know where Area 51 resides... or doesn't. How fun! I had happened on a super awesome tourist attraction! Or not. Where are the tourists? We saw three cars in eight hours, three. We literally saw NO end to the road in sight and no promise of a gas station. Well, that was poorly planned. I began to envision our demise as well as the consequence of happening upon some secret, government project and "disappearing." It was just plain awful.

The road out to Area 51...

We arrived at Yosemite rattled to say the least, but we made it. And then we had to drive Tioga Pass. When the word PASS appears in the name, your RV should not attempt said road. Lesson learned. Again, we arrived, rattled, but alive. Thank you to God and the driver. What awaited us took our breath away and our shoulders began to relax... slightly. 

As we drove the hour into the heart of Yosemite, we hit major construction and complete map confusion. At one point, we asked a volunteer about directions and he replied, "Oh, don't look at the signs, and really don't look at the map. They're all wrong." We were pushed along in the right direction, but had to guess A LOT throughout our visit. The whole park was just off, maps included. Again, we arrived. Rattled, but there. This was becoming a bit of a pattern. We settled and went to the visitor center, a habit, to orientate and ask questions. Rattled nerves met with not so nice volunteers who had very little answers. The effect was rough for some reason. You know when something completely small shatters what was left of the little threads still holding you together? All of a sudden we needed our people. Except we didn't know that. 

Here's something I've learned about one's people. You don't really know what an integral part they play in holding together the pieces. When we embarked on this journey, our people held the most generous, beautiful farewell party for us. They celebrated our crazy leap of faith, they fed us, they hugged us, and they sent us away with journals, picture books of all our people, and countless other thoughtful gifts. We think of our people daily. We pray for them, we talk about them, and we miss them. The adventure, the beauty, and one another, dog included, have been holding us together, but God knew in this fractured moment we needed some people. He sent us a family. This particular family was a group of four siblings and spouses our parents' age. They engaged us in conversation that evening and invited us for s'mores. Here they had escaped to Yosemite to spend time as a family, and they invited us in. That night, in the glow of a beautiful moon and a warm fire, we shared s'mores, and they told us stories of growing up camping in Yosemite. Their brother played his guitar, and we sang songs all night, my children leading Peter, Paul, and Mary songs and calling out requests. As we walked home, one sleepy child said, "I almost felt like I was around a campfire with Uncle Travis again." See. God knew. We just needed some people. God is good. 

We woke up refreshed and ready to explore. Yosemite is built for bike riding! We attended Jr. Ranger programs, tried the visitor center again, and went to the Native American museum. We also had the incredible opportunity to see forest firefighters working on a controlled, prairie burn. It affected the air and our view of the mountains during the visit, but it was such a cool event to witness we didn't care! 

Have you hugged a tree today?

The next day we tried to volunteer, but we couldn't find the ranger. We found a tiny library instead. Again, God is good. THIS was so what we needed. We read for hours. Then we found a river, and oh, how we love a river! 

The next day we drove to Glacier Point. Our view was partially obscured by the fires, but still breathtaking!

As we move into autumn we have missed seeing many waterfalls in their glory!

Woah! Don't miss this turn!

Ariel view of the controlled prairie burn.

Half dome.

The next day we toured a pioneer museum! This and the Native American museum fit so well into our studies!

Love when we happen upon things that fit our studies!

On our final day in Yosemite, with temperatures dropping, we rode to a Jr. Ranger program. The ranger was amazing and really tailored her program to the questions the kids were asking. She had them eating all kinds of native plants! It was here God gave us one more blessing we didn't know we desperately needed. Friends. We met our first family on the same journey. They had three children - 8, 6, and 4 - and we just clicked. The ranger allowed our families to sneak into the Jr. Ranger Center that was closed for the season. The kids had a blast and the parents talked... moms about homeschooling, dads about RVs, and the kids, well, at one point I know they were mountain lions. It was heavenly! So much so, we wandered to a river, sat on a log, and the kids played through lunch. We tried to take their family home with us, but alas they had to get back to their dog. We may or may not have had some tears when we rode away. It was such a blessing. 

We recovered with a bit of therapeutic painting, another thing we hadn't done in a long time, and Dad taught the girls how to play catch.

God knew what our souls so desperately needed, people. They weren't our people, but they were His, and they were just what He knew we needed. We pulled away from Yosemite full.