In July, we had a reunion with my family in Paradise (aka Yosemite). I LOVE this place!! Really, I struggle putting into words how awe-inspiring it is to me. I also have a strong emotional attachment to Yosemite. My mom's family went there growing up, and then my family went there growing up. And now, we're all grown, almost all with families of our own. I have so many amazing, wonderful, joyful, tender memories of Yosemite; I loved having my own family enjoy a place I love so much.
The last time we went, I was pregnant with Mariah, so this was our children's first time there. At the end of the week (yes, we slept in a tent for one full week, with 3 children under 4), they didn't want to leave.
Everyone except one brother-in-law (we missed you, Brent) was able to make it this year. We were 39 people strong. People traveled from Florida, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, and Utah.
We managed to take about 1500 photos. So . . . . I will try to be choosy, and I'm going to break up the reunion into several posts, both for my sanity and yours.
Elaine and cousin Orva, a few minutes before departure
Planning, packing for, and carrying out a week-long camping trip is no small feat. It was especially tricky this time because we had already been in Utah for 3 weeks, and 16 of us were staying at my parents' house, which meant food preparation and packing was insanity. Trying to prepare and pack a week's worth of food for 3 different families, using 1 kitchen was amazing. Laura and my mom were in there for a few days straight before we left . . . seriously! (We should have taken a picture of that!)
My parents, the Allens, the Stewarts, the Gibbs, and we all left from Utah and played a bit of traveling leap frog along the way.
We broke the drive into 2 days. The first, we drove to Tonopah, Nevada--a happenin' place for sure. (Anyone from Wymount know if the Bodily's are still in Tonopah?) The girls did great on the drive. Sally slept for the first 4 hours, to Ely, Nevada. We stopped there for dinner. That would have been our only stop, but from Ely to Tonopah, Sally was not a happy camper. We made several small stops to settle her.
We left Tonopah early the next morning (Saturday), after a good night's sleep, and drove 5 hours straight to our campsite. Timing was perfect. Sally needed to nurse just as we got to the entrance to the park, and the line of cars was so long that I just fed her in the car while we waited in line. She finished just as we reached the entrance booth. The drive to camp is actually one of my favorite parts, because the whole park is so incredibly diverse and beautiful! It's about 2 1/2 hours from the east entrance (Tioga Pass) to Wawona campground, at the south end of the park. We were neighbors with Marian's family (Stewarts), and they were already setting up camp when we pulled in. Everyone else, except Motts, trickled in Saturday afternoon. Motts joined us on Sunday, having driven all the way from Texas!
2 comments:
Breaking up the drive in Tonopah was a good idea. Maybe we'll do that next time. I don't know if our food would have made it as well, though.
We had the most fabulous week. I know what you mean about not being able to put it in words. Our kids just keep repeating what a great time it was too.
I love reading everyone's posts about the trip, because they're all a little different. I can tell I just can't get over how much fun it was, because I can't stop looking at all the pictures over and over again.
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