Yosemite

     Yosemite also makes it onto my "Beautiful Places that I've Visited" list. It's hard to put into words how being in these amazing forests makes you feel. It's a great reminder of how tiny and young we all are as humans. These mountains and trees are like sentinels full of wisdom. I know this was Tanner's favorite stop of our trip.

     We hiked up a waterfall, which seemed to us at first glance to not be a big deal. But 1.5 miles vertical is a heck of a lot different than walking on a straight paved path. It was a lot more intense than I had expected but also an amazing experience. At one point climbing up, there was so much mist coming from the waterfall that we were completely soaked and had water dripping down us everywhere. With the wind and the sun we dried off pretty quickly after reaching the top of the water fall.

    There weren't railings all the way up, only on the really steep/dangerous parts. Going back down actually was a little more challenging than the climb up. Trying to maneuver the slippery rocks in a downward motion without falling to your death in the waterfall was a little nerve wracking. It's actually kind of scary how many people die in national forests. I had about a million heart attacks seeing kids in Yosemite and Sequoia climbing around peaks of mountains freely while their parents stood nonchalantly by. Of course this is coming from someone who doesn't have kids and doesn't really know what it would be like but I'm 99% sure I'm getting one of those child leash things once the time comes.

     That night we rented a tent in the middle of the forest at a place called Curry Village. It was awesome, although I did dream about bears all night. We actually saw a bobcat about 20 feet away from us creeping right through the woods by our tent. It saw us as well but just kept walking around. We watched it for about 2 minutes before it ran off. 

     As we were driving out the next day we did a little exploring around Yosemite Falls. It was really hard to leave that Forest. I want to spend a week there in the future. There's just so much beauty to see. I'm so thankful for these experiences that we are fortunate enough to have.

Frozen Waterfalls

     We had a really lovely, fantastic weekend this weekend. Valentine's Day we spent at home making homemade pizza and cuddling up on the couch watching Netflix and eating Ben & Jerry's. Saturday was spent adventuring at Vertical Endeavors rock climbing (although of course it happened to be the day that I wasn't feeling well so I spectated instead of actually climbing) and eating fantastic Greek food in Minneapolis. On Sunday I felt the itch to explore and the need for an adventure. Then I thought of the frozen Minnehaha Falls that I had never seen. I often say things that I want to do and then never put them into action. Well, I decided to just go for it and do what I say I want to do! It was about a 20 minute drive from our place in St. Paul and well worth it.

    Technically you're not really supposed to go back behind the water fall, it's quite icy and can be very dangerous if you're not careful and have at least a little bit of athleticism. You have to hold on to ropes and pretty much slide along a steep ice covered hill to get back there. But it's oh so worth it. A beautiful and unique experience for sure.  

(Remember to click the photos to view a larger version!)

Behind the falls:

    Driving home I felt so good about going out and exploring the amazing world we live in. So often I feel like I'm wanting a beautiful adventure some place far, far away and forgetting about the amazing cities I live in and all the interesting things we can do here. Advice for myself and for others who feel stuck- especially in these chilly winter months- be a tourist. Be an adventurer. For free. There's a million things you can do if you just look around. Feel young and naive and wide-eyed and let your heart be open. Sometimes it's as simple as that.