Sisters + Spouses’ Yosemite Trip – Travel Recap
Or maybe I should call this "sisters + spouses + baby trip to Yosemite" because baby Elliot really made the trip. 🙂 It wouldn't have been the same without him!
But the point of this sisters' trip to Yosemite was to celebrate my sister Courtney's 40th birthday!! Wahoo! Happy birthday, Court.
Her request was that all the sisters + spouses be there, and she wanted to celebrate at a luxe lodge near a national park.
We stayed at Rush Creek Lodge, and I'm realizing now that I took almost no photos of the actual property!
But it was gorgeous.
It's a lodge with hotel-style rooms, villas, a spa, multiple dining spaces, a pool, a hot tub, a kids play area, and easy access to Yosemite.
We had two of the little villas, and each one had two rooms, a bathroom, a little living room space, and a big spacious deck where we could all hang out and watch the sunset. Check out the view from our deck!!!
The sunsets were unreal. The first night was especially beautiful because it was overcast all day, and the sun made the clouds turn HOT PINK right at dusk. (So if you get hit with a cloudy day, don't fret! You might get a sunset like this!)
Yosemite Sisters Trip Schedule
This is one of my favorite parts to read in travel blog recaps (because I'm usually planning my own trip), so here's how we spaced out our 4-day trip to Rush Creek Lodge:
DAY 1 // TRAVEL + SETTLE IN //Â The Dallas crew flew direct to Fresno, but Nate and I had to make a connecting flight from LAX. And then after two flights, we picked up the rental car and drove 3 hours to Rush Creek Lodge.
By the time we got there it was late afternoon. We checked in, freshened up, and went to the restaurant at Rush Creek Lodge for dinner.
After that we all enjoyed a leisurely evening of cocktails and conversation and watching the sunset.
DAY 2 // SEQUOIAS HIKE + DRIVE TO EL CAPITAN // We all got breakfast at the lodge (they had some really good grab-and-go brisket breakfast burritos and egg bagel sandwiches at the little coffee shop) and then drove about 2 miles to the Yosemite National Park entrance closest to us (Big Oak Flat entrance).
From there we drove about 10 minutes to the nearest grove of Sequoia trees! We hiked for a few miles to get to the walk-through tree.
The Sequoias made me physically stop and marvel in awe. Looking at them made me feel how I'd imagine it might feel to be looking at a dinosaur, or even a great blue whale. Ancient and HUGE.
Note that this wasn't the main Sequoia grove at Yosemite. The bigger grove (called Mariposa Grove) would have been about an hour + drive from us, and we wanted to get out of the car and enjoy the fresh air so we opted for Tuolmne Grove. A bit smaller with fewer trees, but when the Sequoias are this big and awesome, who cares??
After the hike, we loaded up in the car and drove down Southside Drive to see El Capitan.
Do you see anyone climbing up there? They look like tiny little specks scaling the wall! (I did not see anyone on this particular day - most likely because it was overcast with a chance of rain? But I really wanted to!!)
For the late afternoon, we drove back to the lodge, and relaxed in the hot tub, cleaned up for dinner, and enjoyed another late night of watching the sunset and enjoying cocktails on our private deck. Absolute bliss!
DAY 3 // HETCH HETCHY HIKE + CURRY VILLAGE // The four sisters left in the morning for a hike at Hatch Hetchy and left the husbands + baby behind for a morning at the pool.
Ok, truthfully, we did not do a great job researching and planning our hikes for this trip (busy back-to-school season for everyone!) so we just kind of winged it. And it worked out ok!
We ended up doing the lookout hike, which is fairly short (about 1.5 miles up and then back down) with an absolutely incredible view overlooking Yosemite and the reservoir.
And lucky for us...there was one little tree at the very top that provided a nice shady spot for us to sit, eat snacks, and enjoy about 45 minutes of sister talk before we hiked back down.
From there we drove back, picked up all the boys, and drove through the park again to the opposite side to experience the more populated side of Yosemite - Curry Village!
Curry Village is where you can find more camping, hotels, and restaurants within the park. Courtney wanted to check it out for ideas of future trips with more kids in tow!
See all the people swimming in the river? ^ There were a LOT of people on this side of the park, even at the very end of August! It was a big contrast from the other side of the park where we were staying.
We walked around and explored, ate some pizza and ice cream, climbed a giant rock... you know. Mostly we enjoyed the views of Half Dome and soaked up the beautiful California air!
And then back home for some s'mores and more hanging out on the deck with cocktails.
DAY 4 // TRAVEL BACK HOME //Â The only downside to traveling to Yosemite was that it was a really long travel day to Austin! We had enough time on day four for a very short hike near the lodge, some breakfast and coffee, and then loaded up the car and drove 3 hours to the airport for two flights home. Nate and I landed around 10 pm and I couldn't wait to get home and kiss my two sleeping boys. (Shout out to my in-laws for watching our children for 4 days!)
There are few things more sacred at this point in my life than uninterrupted time with the people I love.
And getting to celebrate my sister's 40th in such a big, fun way was something I'll never forget.
Courtney is an easy one to celebrate. She's probably the quietest of us four sisters, but also so brave and bold. She's the only PhD in the family, a tenured professor, a published author, and one of the most inquisitive people. I mean...she will research something like you can't imagine. 🙂
She's also just so loving, but not in a wishy-washy lovey-dovey way. She's loving in a real, raw way where she loves through her actions and her whole life. She's so involved in the foster and adoption community in her city. She loves and cares for...I mean, SO many children. And she loves them in real, impractical, inconvenient ways. You know what I mean? Real love.
Being her younger sister is such a gift, and getting to cheers to her multiple times on this sisters trip to Yosemite was such a gift to me!! Love you sis!
And that's a look at our sisters + spouses (+ baby 🙂 trip to Yosemite and Rush Creek Lodge.