Yosemite

Tom, Kathryn and Jared enjoyed "camping" at Yosemite this past week with some of the Pearson/Welch relatives. Uncle Jim Welch had been to this particular place 2 years ago and vowed that the only thing missing was to have more family around to play with. So, last year he emailed everyone to see if anyone in the extended family wanted to go together in 2008...Tom and I signed up and I'm so glad we did! It was beautiful and fun and very special to be in such an amazing part of the country. The spot where we stayed was pretty awesome as we could walk down to a tributary of the Merced river to swim (shallow enough for Jared and small kids, deep enough for an amazing high dive rock), walk to a great waterfall, walk to the Wawona School for "playing", walk to the library, walk to each others' cabins, walk to get fresh towels at any time of day, and had every convenience and comfort while we were in the wilderness (including cell reception, free long-distance and fully-equipped kitchens). We were a little drive from the Yosemite Valley, which was nice for day trips. I would go back to The Redwoods at Yosemite anytime! Highly recommended.

Luckily, we left the day before the fires raged in the area. Evidently they have cut power to the whole valley now and have lost many homes in another part of the park. Everything was tinder-dry when we were there, I can see how it would go up quickly and intensely. Scary!