This October our first family California trip included camping at Yosemite National Park.

Since camping for us usually involves an RV, we made plans to rent one in San Francisco. We also sent a box to ourselves in advance with many of the things we would need while camping, instead of renting them from the RV rental place (sheets, pillows, blankets and kitchen pots and utensils). So, after a wonderful full day exploring San Francisco, we got up early, took the train and then an Über ride to the RV rental office.

Once we had our RV, we drove to a nearby FedEx office to pick up our box, made stops at Costco and Walmart for food and other necessities and then were finally on our way to Yosemite!

We ended up getting there at night, and started to feel a bit disappointed for not being able to see the park… until we hit a spot on the road where several cars were parked admiring El Capitan in the full moonlight. That was one incredible entrance to Yosemite which we realized we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy if we got there earlier.

The next morning we were up early, had a good breakfast in our camper and were ready to explore!

Our campsite offered this spectacular view:

Our first stop was, well, a bus stop. In the summer, Yosemite offers a free shuttle bus service. This is very convenient as it will get you to the main points of interest where you can then go off on hikes and explore the park without having to take a car everywhere and struggle to find parking. This is a busy park! So off we went to the visitor center to get some information on kid-friendly hikes and to get a game plan for the next couple of days. We also picked up a booklet so our little guy could work on getting his first Junior Ranger badge. Then we got a ride on the El Capitan shuttle to our hiking spot for the day. We got off at the El Capitan Picnic area and enjoyed incredible views of this impressive rock formation.

Our little camera allowed us to spot some climbers hard at work.

We were so happy to be out in nature, and felt so lucky to see all this beauty.

Our four year-old did incredibly well during this hike, we were actually surprised! It’s our goal as parents to teach him to love and respect nature, and some times this involves some tree-hugging…

He finally found one he could hug all the way…

After our day of hiking we went back to our campsite and got a fire going, some dinner ready and then it was time for s’mores!

The next morning we looked through our Junior Ranger booklet, worked on several activities based on what we saw and learned on our hike the previous day, and then we were ready to head back to the Visitor Center for a badge!

After that we were off on our next hike, this time to Mirror Lake, which was relatively close to our campground. Once we got there, our little guy was, as usual, drawn to the water and sand, so off came the shoes and socks (and, soon after, the pants as well) and he played to his heart’s content while we enjoyed spectacular views of Half Dome.

What a wonderful way to spend our second day in Yosemite! Then it was back to the campsite for dinner and a good night’s sleep.

The next day was our last in the park, so we took a final walk around the Visitor Center area before heading out.

We stopped at Tunnel View to see Yosemite Valley and found it very hazy; the effect of the wildfires was really felt here in the air quality as well. Still, it was beautiful and impressive, and a great way to end our visit to Yosemite.