Yosemite!

Near Olmstead point, Yosemite
Hello!  Right now I'm in LA...but I'm here to talk about the first stop on my trip...Yosemite!  
Being a native Californian, I've been to Yosemite before.  I actually used to work at a summer camp right outside Yosemite, but this was my first experience camping.  Like camping camping.  I'd been kinda-sorta camping, but this was my first time camping at a site with no water, no shower, etc.  Things mostly went OK, but I had no idea how hard it is to keep a fire going without manmade fuel!  A nice family at a nearby site gave us some of the firewood they'd found.  People were all really nice and helpful, which was great. I'd read about the sort of friendly camping spirit in Dwelling Portably and I guess it was for real!
We stayed at Tamarack Flat campground, which I recommend.  It's close to both the Yosemite Valley and Tuolumne Meadow.  Just $10 a night!  As previously mentioned...no running water, but there is a no-flush bathroom.
We checked out the Yosemite Valley.  There are some really awe-inspiring views, but the Valley is super crowded with tourists and families.  While it's definitely the must-see part of the park, I prefer the Tuolumne Meadow area.
After the Valley, we just decided to sort of drive along Tioga Road in the park and see what looked interesting.  A couple of stops:

• Lake Tanaya, which is popular because it's a big lake and it's right off the road (many other lakes require a hike).
• Soda Springs...we drank the spring water! It tasted like pellegrino...
• Olmstead Point, which has some great views.

We also took some time just to relax, read, write, and play music.  ♥
Those are just a couple of the pictures I took...I took more, but most of them were just so-so, so I won't post them.  Nick took a ton of pictures on his new, pretty good camera...but his memory card was fried :'(
By the by...if you'd like to follow my road trip play-by-plays, I'm on Twitter @katrinakay.  ALSO: Nick has started to blog, too at A Californian in Outer Space.  He's just getting going, but you should peep game because he's a really great writer and his camera takes great pictures.
Until next time!