The trip began at about 4pm on the afternoon of Thursday July 5th. After getting the Jeep packed up, Bobby drove us (Teresa, Ryan and I) up to Bakersfield where we picked up Sandeep. From there we went straight to Fresno where we stayed the night at Teresa's parents house. The next morning we took off for the great Yosemite National Park!

Welcome to Yosemite!

After coming out the other end of the tunnel leaving into Yosemite Valley, we stopped for some pictures. Aren't they a cute family.

We immediately checked into the Housekeeping Campsite and then took off on our first day's adventures. First stop - Lower Yosemite Falls!

After returning from the falls, we drove up to Glacier Point. Man what a view.

To finish off our first day in the park, we took on Sentinel Dome. The second picture was ment to be taken at an angle, cool eh?

To close off Day 1, we returned to camp. I met the other Brar's for the first time. These people were super nice and totally made me feel like family. They also made awesome BBQ!

The next morning, the plan was to head out for Budd Lake bright and early. Along with rain and the usually late start, we hiked up to Cathedral Lake (at 9000ft) instead.

Because of the elevation, weather and length of hike, it was already 6pm when we finally made it back to the vehicles. On the way back to camp, we stopped at Olmsted Point for some more pictures.

On Sunday morning, most people were tired so only 5 of us went on the hike up Vernal Falls.

The way up is totally amazing. The steep stone stairs, the mist from the falls, etc ...

After reaching the top, I continued on to Nevada Falls. We all sat down for lunch half-way between the two.

On the way back down I couldn't resist attempting to play Spiderman on the rocks in the rapids. The other guys found it a little amusing.

Finally, after a little playtime, we made our way down again.

When we returned to camp, the other half of the group was just leaving for a little rafting. We grabbed a spot along the Merced river and waited for them to come by. But after a quick lunch with everyone together, it time to say goodbye and return home to Thousand Oaks.

It's interesting to note that two of my three favorite places on Earth (Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs and Yosemite), I visited in the past two months.