Up the Elephant's Trunk!

So...back to Yosemite! I've been jumping around a bit because I know posts and posts with breathtaking pictures can get old.....:)

Derrick and I knew we wanted to get a taste of outdoor rock climbing while we were out west and there was no better place to get our feet wet then Yosemite! Derrick and I own the basic gear (shoes, harness, belay device) but don't own ropes and do not know much about anchoring and safely setting up an outdoor climbing experience so we were quite happy to default to the experts on this one. After a quick Bing search (gotta rep that Microsoft :) we found there were 2 companies in Yosemite that do group rock climbing. We ended up choosing SMYG because they were super quick to respond, very nice on the phone, and weren't going to make us jump through some crazy hoops for a day out.

It was also very reasonably priced for what we were getting. We're talking a full day with a private guide just for us. We are SO glad we did this. It was such a great experience and we can't wait to go climbing again!

Enough blabbing...check out some pics!

We learned to lead-belay while we were there. It's harder than it looks!

The first set of 4 we did was super slabby. This just means it leans in a bit. It was so different having to find your own hand and foot placements instead of having  a very clear, colored path like in the gym.

These first 4 were incredibly trying on our ankles. Because there aren't big foot holds all the way up, you are essentially gripping the rock through your shoes so your ankles stay tense the entire time. It was a new sensation and really affected us more than I expected.

The view from the top was awesome, and I'm not just talking about that hottie at the top of the wall!

After a quick lunch break at which Derrick and I realized we significantly over-packed food-wise, we headed up to a higher rockface for a couple more climbs and the topic of this blog title. Doesn't' it look just like an elephant? We climbed up her trunk and all the way up over her forehead. It's about a 75 foot climb but it's also on the top of a mountain so when you get up there you feel SO high and the wind is pretty crazy. We LOVED this one!

There is our awesome guide Colby who kept us safe all day!

Colby obliged us with a quick selfie. Best guide ever! We felt very safe while we were with him and he even humored us by laughing at our jokes and complimenting our inexperienced climbing :)

We ended the climb by simulating a multi-pitch climb which was pretty cool. A pitch is just a rope-length so in a multi-pitch climb you climb as far as your rope will allow, anchor yourself in place, and then continue your climb from where you are anchored. It was pretty neat and Colby taught us some tips and tricks for safely anchoring and belaying from the top of a wall. We also got to repel down which was pretty cool and something Derrick and I hadn't done before.

Seriously, this was an awesome experience and we are so glad we decided to go for it. If you are looking for a company to take you on a rock climbing adventure I would definitely recommend SMYG. It was exactly what we were hoping for and so much more!

Girly Girl

Yesterday I found myself doing something iconically "grown-up lady" that I have never done before and never really thought I would. Remember this is the girl that didn't pierce her ears until age 19, got make-up for the first time as a wedding gift, and opted out of junior year prom because of the dress code.

Yep...I put make-up on in the car at the stoplights. I'm a lady!!

In other news....keep your wisdom teeth. They are not worth the week+ of hell you'll have afterwards. We're on day 7 and still pushing the motrin hard over here. You can kind of tell in that picture above that I'm still a little swollen. Ugh..I'm soo over it.  Luckily an engagement party tonight and baby shower tomorrow are just the things to keep my mind off my mouth :)

Yo Yo Yosemite!

After Lake Tahoe we went back to Folsom to enjoy some down time with the family. We ate out, watched the Thunder, and generally just relaxed until Thursday. On Thursday all 5 of us headed to Yosemite for the weekend. The winding roads up the mountain were crazy and scary. No guard rails, up a mountain with hairpin turns. It was kind of crazy. We started out and this is what our backseat looked like. That lasted about 20 minutes before Jamie threw up all over the back seat. No more ipads in the car after that!

 Yosemite was definitely worth it though. It was stunningly beautiful! We drove into the park and hit up 3 small hikes that first day. The first one was basically a boulder scramble. We didn't know if we were on the trail or not but we just scrambled up the rocks towards the sound of the waterfall. It was one of my favorite hikes but also one of the more nerve wrecking hikes with two 8 year olds wanting to climb on everything and being so close to water.

This was most of the hike. Huge boulders to scramble over. I loved it!

Can you see the rock climbers in this picture? They were climbing that rock face with the river flowing below them. It was pretty awesome!

After that first hike we drove further into Yosemite to visit the visitor's center and hike the lower Yosemite Falls hike. It was all paved and a very easy hike which was perfect for the first day.

This is El Cap. It's a famous rock face that climbers climb. This is NOT what Derrick and I climbed. Maybe one day :)

Yosemite Falls!

Stunning right?

How is this place real?

The final hike of the day was a bridal veil hike. Apparently there are a lot of Bridal Veils throughout the US. We had a very close encounter with a deer. Did you know that more people get injured in Yosemite by deer than any other animal? They come up for food and if you feed them and then run out of food, they will punch you in the face! What????

On our way out of the park for the day we stopped at this vista point. Seriously...how can this be real? Doesn't it just look like a painting?

The next day was rock climbing but that's a whole other post!! If Yosemite isn't on your bucket list yet these pictures should have convinced you by now.