Now that Yosemite National Park has a reservation system during the summer months, we couldn’t just decide to go to Yosemite for the day without some planning. Even with our reservation, we waited 30 minutes to enter the park.

The Valley was very crowded that day even though it was a week day. The parking at this pullout along the road was empty when I got there, but by the time I left, it was double parked with vehicles. Everyone had to see what we were looking at!

Across the road from us was a magnificent view of El Capitan.

It was a bit windy that day. You can see the water at the top of Bridal Veil Falls being whipped up by the breeze. Though Bridal Veil still had water, Yosemite Falls was just a trickle.

The parking lots in the valley were totally full. We drove around to see if anyone might be leaving, but soon gave up. We had to settle for parking along the road like this meadow pullout.

I took a little walk along the pathway and found this old fallen log.

Looking back, I could see El Capitan from a different angle.

We got tired of the crowds and decided to drive up into the high country. We found a nice pull out with a view. We were the only ones there.

Our campground was only five miles from the Oak Flat entrance. We enjoyed our time there, but we didn’t attempt any more trips into the park. It was just too crowded for our taste. However, we enjoyed our evening walks around the campground and the many beautiful sunsets like this one.