Family Vacation to Tuolumne Meadows - Part II

The second half of our trip was just as wonderful as the first. On Saturday, we spent time hiking down the Tuolumne River relaxing and taking in the scenery. We walked over Pot Hole Dome and then joined the trail that runs along the river. As we were walking along the river, a Bald Eagle flew directly over us and circled once! Fishing for his lunch. It was the best view I have ever gotten of a Bald Eagle, and of course, I had just put my camera away. But actually, I probably got to enjoy it more that way. 

There are some great swimming pools on the river, and the boys had fun on the natural water slides. 

Another tradition of ours is hiking Lembert Dome. Instead of using the trail, we hike up the rite side of the face, since it is pretty low angle. Some trips, we even do this hike every evening. This year, my sister was really looking forward to hiking up Lembert with Phillip. Officially making him the youngest member of the family to reach the summit. My sister and I first hiked up the face when I was about 4 and she was 8. Of course, since she had Phillip in the backpack, she took the trail up with my Mom, and the rest of us met them on top. I'm sure my Dad, Mom and Sister are the only ones who really appreciate this, but it was really special watching them reach the summit. 

i love this picture! 

One evening, we also took a stroll through the meadow to the natural soda springs. Andrew and my cousins hadn't seen it yet, so of course we had to show them. Plus I couldn't remember the last time I'd been there, so I tasted the soda water too. It tastes like metal, but I guess it's part of the experience, right? 

natural springs

This year, there were SO many deer in the meadows. I had never seen so many, sometimes you could count twenty of them grouped together. As we were walking back to camp in the meadow, we saw three. And we actually got pretty close to them. We also saw two coyotes this year, but much to Andrews dismay, we didn't see any bears. 

Before we left Sunday morning, Andrew and I walked up the river so I could play with my new camera. Although I have so much to learn still, I got a few good pictures. And it was fun to get in a little more time along the river before we had to head home. 

Of course, before we could say goodbye, we had to get one more ice cream. My mom enjoyed one with us in the meadow while my Dad took my cousins on one last rock climb. It was nice to squeeze in some more time with my mom, too. 

And just like that, our weekend of fun was over. It was so nice to spend time with my family for a few days. It's hard now that I don't see them as often, so I treasure every minute I get with them now. I especially loved having that time to bond with Phillip. He's just so precious and is such a happy baby. I'm already missing them all and can't wait to see them again, hopefully soon. 

It was a great trip, until next year....

xoxo,

Theresa