yosemite

is so gorgeous! For my husband's birthday I planned a surprise camping trip to Yosemite. Turns out planning a surprise camping trip with an unknown quantity of people can be a bit stressful. It all worked out perfectly though and we had an amazing trip! If you have never been to Yosemite I HIGHLY recommend you go-words can't describe it's beauty. Here are some of the highlights of this trip:

This is Dog Lake-not a very impressive name, but a phenomenal lake! From the Lembert Dome parking lot up in Tuolumne Meadows it's about an hour hike (uphill the whole way) but totally worth it. It's at just over 9,000 elevation with only a few peaks in sight that are any taller. We took a dip in the lake (beware of the mushy bottom) before heading back down. 

  This little fella wasn't afraid of me. Came cruising across my path while I was hiking along the river in the Tuolumne Meadows campground. There are also black bear in the area, but you rarely see them. Mostly you hear them at night when you are trying to sleep and hiding in your tent with your sleeping bag up over your head.

 This is Ellery Lake in Tioga Pass just outside of Yosemite National Park if you come in from the east. It's a beautiful precursor to the all the gorgeousness in the park. 

Too bad I found this on the last day! We ran out of time to jump into that lovely waterfall-boo! It's definitely on my list for next trip!