Yosemite

Day #3 was Yosemite, aka the place with the gorgeous cliffs. 

Hays in front of the haze.
It was pretty foggy/smoggy at most of our California stops.

Not the best pose

They had a station with telescopes set up so that you could watch people climbing El Capitan.

Two women were climbing that day, and aiming to climb the whole thing in a day. Most people take a few days to climb it. They sleep in hammocks on the cliff. 

Doesn't this look like Lord of the Rings?

We hiked to Bridal Veil falls. The water level was pretty low. 

None of the kids were particularly enthusiastic about the waterfall. 

 The post-hike shuttle was packed full, so we had to wait half an hour for the next one. Claire screamed pretty much that whole time. 

A happier Claire on the shuttle

Elliot had been preparing for this moment with a lifetime full of "the wheels on the bus"

Elliot conked out on the drive to the campsite

Diamond O campground

Sleeping bag, mat, infant... all the basic camping supplies

Elliot focused on adding to his dirt layer

The chimney sweep look

The creek by the campsite

That was a particularly rough night for all the kids, with all of them hitting the "too tired to sleep" phase. Elliot ended up sleeping out of his pack n' play on the edge of our sleeping bag that spilled over our tiny air mattress. Eventually we all got some sleep before our temporary separation from the Hays. They took off for Oregon and we set out for Paradise Valley Nevada!