Before we could properly start exploring Yosemite, one of the most popular parks in the USA, we had to drive in the opposite direction to a nearby town of Mariposa, where the nearest pharmacy was located. Mariposa is a tiny town with a population of 2173 people, but it has a nice big pharmacy where Julia was able to find whatever she needed. Even though we lost some time travelling to Mariposa and back, I filled up the car so that we didn't have to go back later. I also set up a GoPro camera on the windshield to capture the epic first drive to the park.
It took about an hour to drive from Mariposa to the entrance of Yosemite park. Before we even got close to the entrance, the road was blocked with a huge line of cars waiting to get in. Seems like everyone from the nearby area decided to go for a walk in Yosemite park on such a nice Sunday afternoon. After 30 minutes or so of slowly inching towards the entrance, we finally got to the toll booth, paid $30 for a ticket (good for 1 week) and finally made to the inside of Yosemite park. But getting into the park was only the beginning, from there it took another half an hour to get to Yosemite Village where the parking was and find a spot to park. It was getting pretty close to lunch by that time, so we ate some of our food picnic-style.
The parking was just a short hike away from the central Yosemite falls, which is close to the tourist centre and all trails were simply packed with people. The waterfall was pretty thin at this time of the year, it is fuelled by melting snow, so it is the fullest in spring and by autumn there is only a trickle of water left.
From the waterfall, we went on a hike to the Mirror Lake, which was also pretty low on water. On the way there we walked a rougher path through the forest and over some hills, but on the way back we took paved paths which were much easier and faster to walk. The centre of Yosemite park is located in a deep valley surrounded by tall sheer cliffs and covered with dense coniferous forest. So walking on the bottom of the valley you mostly see tall pines and tall walls behind them. From where Mirror Lake is located it's possible to catch a few good reflections of massive mountains around the valley, like the famous Half Dome. Even though the lake was drying out, I managed to find a few good angles and take a few photos.
The hike back to the tourist centre didn't take too long, but unfortunately, it was already closed. There was a little bit of time before the sunset, so we drove to an outlook at Tunnel View to catch the last rays of the sun hitting the valley below. Even though it was getting chilly, the Tunnel View parking was very crowded and for a good reason: you can see the entire valley from above, several rock formations like El Capitan and Half Dome and even Bridalveil waterfall. As the sun went down, colour slowly drained from the valley and tops of the mountains became purple then turned pink and faded.
After the eventful first day, we drove back to the hotel and went to check out the nearby restaurant (one of only a couple within walking distance). The restaurant looked like a classic American diner, fairly dirty (probably considered clean in the USA) and the food was overpriced and terrible. For example, my stir-fry was mostly roughly chopped bell peppers, mushy rice and burned pieces of chicken. So, since we had our own food, we decided not to eat at restaurants anymore.
2025-02-07