When I was a teenager, my family went hiking in Newfoundland (see, I inherited the foot-to-trail gene). The Newfoundland tourist board's slogan for that year was "Newfoundland: Rhymes with Understand." This perplexed us until we asked a local lady one morning, sitting in her kitchen eating breakfast (those Newfies are very hospitable), and she answered in her deeply Canadian accent, "Newfoundland does rhyme with understand." And by golly, when she said it, it certainly did.
We got into the terrible habit of pronouncing Yosemite "Yosa-might" until we had to think pretty hard to remember what it's really called.
The first night we were there, we drove up to Glacier Point to watch the stars come out. Though the stars were a bit of a disappointment, we did point out to the girls where the following day's hike would be -- way down there to visit both of those waterfalls -- Vernal and Nevada Falls.
At the top, we took a break and enjoyed the beauty of the Stella Jay.
Many people turn around at this point and head back, but we continued up to Nevada Falls.
The trail took us up one grueling side, 
over the top, then down the other side of the Merced river.
At one point we peeked through the trees at upper and lower Yosemite Falls far across the valley.
The next morning, we were all hobbling around from a long and strenuous hike before, so the rest of Yosemite was spent visiting things less than 2 miles from the trailhead. Like Lower Yosemite Falls...
...and Dog Lake in the north of the park. We left Yosemite for Sequoia with our first bear sighting.
Cascade Falls
Bridalveil Falls
The first night we were there, we drove up to Glacier Point to watch the stars come out. Though the stars were a bit of a disappointment, we did point out to the girls where the following day's hike would be -- way down there to visit both of those waterfalls -- Vernal and Nevada Falls.
Vernal Falls
Ariel wanted to come to California because he served his mission here and hiked to the top of Vernal Falls with a group of missionaries during his two years. This day, we came full circle and met the newest batch of LDS missionaries taking a break from the work to climb to the top of Vernal Falls.
At the top, we took a break and enjoyed the beauty of the Stella Jay.
Many people turn around at this point and head back, but we continued up to Nevada Falls.
The trail took us up one grueling side, 
over the top, then down the other side of the Merced river.
At one point we peeked through the trees at upper and lower Yosemite Falls far across the valley.
After 7.5 miles, we weren't the only critters eager to get off the trail.
The next morning, we were all hobbling around from a long and strenuous hike before, so the rest of Yosemite was spent visiting things less than 2 miles from the trailhead. Like Lower Yosemite Falls...
...and Dog Lake in the north of the park. We left Yosemite for Sequoia with our first bear sighting.
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