Yosemite, California is my new favorite place. I’m not kidding. This photo is my desktop background and I am obsessed.

DAY ONE

The drive into Yosemite Valley in the winter is breathtaking. Rolling green hills with tiny snow-capped tips show off their tiny waterfalls - which are everywhere. The foggy atmosphere, rushing river, and tall hills that surrounded us on our way in were a phenomenal start to what would be a cold, snowy, white weekend.

We were far too excited to get to the gorgeous valley of Yosemite so we drove straight past our lodge and headed in immediately. After the 12 hour drive, the need to stand and stretch made itself apparent in the pins and needles that swallowed our legs whole. Little did we know, our first opportunity to get out was fast-approaching. After coming around a steep hill bend, we were met with a park ranger’s SUV in the middle of the road. We hit a checkpoint where they were requiring snow chains to move forward. Out of the four of us, a total of zero had ever put on snow chains. We pulled over to the side and took our sweet time figuring out how to chain up, stretching, and taking some of our first photos of the trip.

Our first stop was, of course, Yosemite Falls. However - being photographers - we got distracted! While driving through the valley, we passed under this amazing rock formation. Both Rachel and myself practically jumped out of our seats telling Amanda to turn the car around! From there an entire photo-op ensued, resulting in some of my favorite images from the trip.
(You should definitely check out Rachel’s Instagram @rachelsmak and Amanda’s Instagram @mandersjourney.)

Finally, Yosemite Falls. Guys, believe me when I say that getting right up under the lower falls is an absolutely surreal experience. I made a joke on my Instagram about this waterfall being 64x my height - but it is seriously so surreal just being under this thing and feeling the power of it. Listen, I always feel small because I’m only 5’ tall - but I felt so tiny under this amazing monster.

DAY TWO

One thing I haven’t included in this post is restaurants. That’s because we actually went to the Yosemite general store and grabbed groceries to eat in the hotel - simple things like Cup O’ Noodles and salad in a bag (however, on the last night we did eat at Yosemite Valley Lodge, which I’ll tell you about later). Speaking of the hotel, our home for those two nights was the adorable Cedar Lodge. The bear statues out front were my favorite, and the little shop in the lobby had the cutest knickknacks - I couldn’t help but grab myself one of the mugs for a souvenir.

Not only was the hotel adorable and comfortable, it was only a 10-15 minute drive from the valley. I almost wish the drive was farther because it takes you through those gorgeous grassy hills I mentioned earlier. To start off day two, we headed for Bridalveil Fall. I’m not sure what was more exciting, the waterfall or all the dogs!!

From here, we set course for Mirror Lake - but of course, us being photographers, we got distracted again… The one down-side to visiting Yosemite in February is the fog. Most of the main landmark mountains were covered with thick fog and couldn’t be seen - so you can imagine our reactions when we were driving along and the sky cleared, and El Capitan (the mountain Yosemite is famous for) appeared before our eyes! We stayed and photographed, hung out, and laughed until the skies fogged up again and we were on our way to Mirror Lake.

During the other seasons, you can drive or ride one of the Valley busses right to Mirror Lake. During winter, though, all the roads are closed to vehicles - including the busses. We parked our cars and took the bus as close as it would take us. For us, it was quite a trek to get to the lake, but also easily one of my favorite parts of the trip. As a group of 8, we made our way down the road through the thick snow laughing and joking all the way.

Right before you reach the lake, there is a natural dam. This time of year, the most amazing thing was happening at this dam. The water on one side was flowing and beautiful amongst the snow - yet just on the other side of the dam Lake Mirror was entirely frozen over and covered with snow! Surprisingly, the flowing side of the dam was my favorite and in my opinion, breathtaking; the frozen side of the dam was… disappointing.

Suddenly, night was falling fast and snow was falling plenty. We made the trek back and luckily caught one of the last busses headed back to Yosemite Valley Lodge. Tired, hungry, and wet, we were all grateful to see those headlights and be on the way to a warm meal and a fire pit.

Have you ever had the best hot chocolate of your life? I have. I got it here, at the Yosemite Valley Lodge in the Mountain Room. Not only was it the greatest hot chocolate I’ve been blessed to taste, but I got two of them… and the second was free. (Also, the nachos were pretty good).

DAY THREE

This day was very short considering we had to make the 12 hour drive home still. Although it was short, it was extremely meaningful. I had always wanted to see the Yosemite Church, and it was very high on my list of must-have photographs. Inside the church, nestled in the trees and mountains, the air was so fresh and light. I was able to leave so much negativity behind those doors. After we visited the church, just across the way we shared an extremely important experience with Rachel who had brought some of her mom’s ashes to spread over the river. It was beautiful, and I admire Rachel’s strength and positivity every day.

Yosemite Valley, California

will forever hold a very special place in my heart. This trip couldn’t have come at a better time, or been with better people. I will cherish the memories my friends and I made in this beautiful place for the rest of my life, and my only hope is that I can come back again soon.

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