Let's hop in our DeLoreans and go back a bit—before I went to Petrified Forest, before Joshua Tree. I want to tell you about a specific trail at Yosemite. One I didn't mention in my original Yosemite post. I didn't want to come off as if I didn't wholly love Yosemite, because I did. But this was a park where I had to face one of my most severe and impractical fears.

I'm sure a lot of people face their fears in the National Parks. But I feel like those fears are generally related to heights. My fear was (and is) bugs. I personally feel like I have made great strides with this fear, before I even set foot in Yosemite. I used to be so afraid of bugs that they took a serious toll on my relationship with mother nature. But, now it's mainly the buzzing, stinging bugs that still make me squeal. Yes, squeal. Or, in this case, actually scream.

On our second day in Yosemite, we decided to hike a trail up to "Inspiration Point." It is actually a very long trail out and back, but it has various points along the way, and Inspiration Point is the first one. Our goal was to make it to that point, then head back. We weren't in for an incredibly long hike, because we still wanted to see other parts of the park that day. I don't even think we had made it half a mile into the trail before the bugs became a problem for me. 

A while into the trail I realized it was a specific kind of blooming bush that these particular bugs were attracted to. Any time I was near that bush I could hear the buzzing. They were swarming with bumble bees and other large, buzzing things that I couldn't identify. "Swarming" may be a slight exaggeration, but there were a lot. And these bugs weren't just going about their business, they were extremely territorial. I swear I was chased down by a bumble bee more than once.

If it weren't me experiencing this fear, I would probably laugh at how silly it is. But in the moment, the fear is very real for me. Whenever I heard that buzzing too close to me, I would literally break into a run, with my big hiking backpack bouncing around on my back. It probably looked quite comical, but while it was happening, I really didn't care how I looked. My dad would try to warn me over my loud, unabashed sobs that if I ran, I could risk twisting my ankle on the very rocky and uneven trail, then I would really have nowhere to go.

When we stopped for a water break (far away from any sort of bee bush), my dad looked up bumble bees on his phone in an attempt to calm me down. He was convinced that they didn't sting at all. Not only do they sting, but we found out that if they do sting, they will sting repeatedly. And that the males will chase you down, and generally use any sort of scare tactic to protect the females. I told you they were really chasing me! And that doesn't even speak to the threat of the bugs I couldn't identify. Clearly, that didn't set my mind at ease.

The more we hiked, the more I thought, I've come this far; I can't give up now. I was determined to reach Inspiration Point, and when we did, I've got to admit: it wasn't worth it. People always seem to say that if you just face your fear head on, you won't be so scared anymore. But I think that trail made me even more afraid of bugs. I felt like I couldn't escape them the whole way up. And I still had to go all the way back down. Plus, this point didn't seem too inspirational. I can't speak to what the payoff is like at the very top of the trail, but I didn't even understand why this was considered a stopping point. There was a better view about a third of the way in. This was the view from the Inspiration Point:

Can you see the tension in my face? I was not looking forward to the trip back down. And, honestly, after the hike up I'd had, I was thinking it had better be worth it. But there were trees blocking any kind of view. This was the view from what we later found out was "Old Inspiration Point" about a third of the way to Inspiration Point:

If you've ever been to Yosemite, then you know. If you haven't, I don't know how I can describe its beauty, but I will definitely try. Of course I had heard great things about Yosemite before I went, so I had some high expectations, and it did not let me down. I want to tell you about some of the highlights for me, and hopefully in the process I can paint as close to an accurate picture of the park as possible.

Bridalveil Fall
I found that there were some pros and cons to going to Yosemite in April. One of the biggest pros is the waterfalls. Since the winter snow is melting, the waterfalls are spectacular. This particular trail was not too long (half a mile round trip) and, not only did it have a great payoff at the end, but you could see for nearly the whole walk the creek into which the fall was flowing.

Sentinal Beach
This one was not even a priority for me. I hadn't seen it as a "must see" in any of my research, but this little picnic area made me stop and realize how beautiful this park really is. I know I have been raving about the beauty of the park for this whole post, and have probably used the word "beautiful" too many times, but I honestly don't think I really was able to take it all in until we stopped at Sentinal Beach for a break.

During the days we spent in this park, we never stopped and ate lunch. We always had so much to do that we would just munch on snacks in the car whenever we got a little hungry. Not only is this probably not very healthy, but it never allowed me stop and absorb where I was. We were always on the move. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we got to see all we got to see. I'm just so grateful that we at least took this one moment at Sentinal Beach to just sit down and hang out for a bit. I was just sitting in the grass looking up at the beautiful rock formations and realized how miraculous they really were. We definitely don't have anything like them in Missouri. Not only would I recommend a stop at Sentinal Beach, but I also recommend stopping at picnic areas like it every once in a while just to let your heart catch up to your mind, which, if it's anything like mine, was saying "go go go" the whole time.

This was one of the last stops we made during our time in Yosemite, and it definitely didn't disappoint. The trail to the lower falls is short and easy, and when you make it to the falls, they are misting and I felt like I was in wonderland. I guess I kind of felt like that a lot in this park though. There's just something extra special about waterfalls. They're captivating. Especially ones as large as Yosemite Fall. It's actually the tallest waterfall in North America. But you can't really see that until you get close to end of the loop and look back, which I definitely recommend.

What we didn't do
Glacier Point: Everything I read about Yosemite said you have to see Glacier Point. They said it's the best view in the park, and you don't even have to hike to see it. You just drive right up. But, I mentioned that there are cons to seeing the park in the spring, and this is probably the biggest one. The road to Glacier Point is closed for the winter. It was closed when we were there, so the only way to see it was a pretty long hike that we didn't have the time for.

Half Dome hike: This hike is intense. Or, at least the pictures I saw online made it seem that way. It's the kind of hike I would have loved to do, even though you have to dedicate a whole day to it. However, this hike requires a permit. Not only that, but there is a lottery for those permits, so not everyone who wants one gets one. Even if I could have gotten one, which wasn't statistically in my favor, this trail was also closed for the season when we were there.

Ultimately... you should just see this park. There is no way you can know how great it is unless you experience it. It's like the second you step out of your car you're somewhere else. You're in a beautiful outdoor palace where everyone is as entranced as you are. I've heard that some people are put off by the amount of people in Yosemite. Yes, there are a lot of people; it's one of the most visited National Parks in the country, but it felt to me like all the other people were as happy to be there as I was. There were good vibes coming from the crowds of people. The crowds that I was happy to be joining.