Early on, due to Covid, we decided to break our honeymoon into two parts. The first part was a trip to northern Arizona and Utah where we knew things would be open, and then the second part would be in Yosemite several months later.
Monday, April 5th. The honeymoon started off with a 5 hour drive to Horseshoe Bend. Some general tips if you ever happen to pass by. Number one: If you go right in the middle of the day, it will most likely be very hot. Wear long sleeves no matter what the temperature is and you will be sure to stay cooler than people in tank tops. Number two: After you make it down the one mile trail and back, you will feel like having a cool beverage. There is a McDonald’s a few minutes up the road. Use the bathrooms there and take advantage of the large mocha frappes. You will thank us! Mocha frappes became a big hit for us. We didn’t go a day without one on our honeymoon!
After enjoying the view at Horseshoe Bend, we made it across the border into Utah for the first time! The sign came and went quickly, so of course we had to turn back to get a picture.
We continued the drive for a few more hours to arrive at Zion National park. God decided to bless us right then and there. As we were driving on the two-lane roads, Justin had quickly glanced to the left at a herd of deer and Jen was looking to the right, taking pictures out the window. As Jen was taking photos, she saw a deer about to jump in front of the car. In a split second she went to tell Justin to stop but lost her voice out of shock. No more than a foot ahead, with just the view of the deer’s chest and up, the deer bolted in front of our car and threaded past the oncoming traffic. Somehow he missed our car and the oncoming bus. What a miracle. If we would have sped up, we would have hit the car in front. If we would have slammed the breaks, we would have been hit in the back. Surely, if we hit the deer, our short honeymoon would have been even shorter.
Then after miraculously avoiding the deer crash, we went to Meme’s Cafe (thinking it was Mimi’s Cafe LOL) and ordered food to go. We visited the tourist shops and then took our dinner back to our hotel. We checked into Zion National Park Lodge and had a picnic on the big grassy area out front. The weather and views were amazing.
Tuesday, April 6th. We were up and about, ready to go at 6am. It was still dark when we started the hike to Angel’s Landing. Not even 5 minutes into walking, Justin spotted 4 deer. We decided that deer here were equivalent to bunnies back where we live. We enjoyed the hike mostly by ourselves on the way up since we started so early. Everywhere we looked, as the sun rose higher and higher, the view became more and more beautiful. The red rocks against the green trees and the clear, emerald river running alongside the trail was breathtaking. All we could think of was how small we are and how great God is.
After finishing Angel’s Landing, 4 hours later, we decided that we had enough energy to check out another trail to the Emerald Pools. Apparently this trail had 3 different trails within it, Upper, Middle, and Lower Emerald Pools. Thankfully, they were easy walking trails. It was nice to see the canyon from another view and feel the misty water from the waterfalls.
Wednesday, April 7th. Our next destination was Buckskin Gulch. This is the longest slot canyon within the United States located in southern Kane County, Utah, near the Arizona border. Justin backpacked across the full 40 miles several years ago. He decided he wanted to take Jen back to where he did his last backpacking trip.
Since the slot canyon is so long we just walked as far as we felt before turning around to go back. We enjoyed casually walking about a few miles in and out of the canyon. It is strange to experience it being very hot outside and then to enter the canyon to feel the temperature drop significantly. The best part was never knowing what was around the corner. Was the opening of the canyon going to be huge or shrink to only four feet wide? Was there going to be water, rocks, sand, or grass? Like Zion, we looked up and couldn’t help but feel so small.
Saturday, June 19th - Wednesday, June 23rd. The second part of our honeymoon started off with an 11 hour drive to Mammoth Lakes, California. As you can imagine, the weather was much nicer than Arizona and great for hiking. Justin did some research and found a new hike that took us past a couple new lakes including: TJ, Barrett, and Emerald Lake. Shortly after reaching Emerald Lake, a cute red, border collie ran up to us. We learned his name was Beido. Beido was a great model and loved diving into the water after sticks.
Our trip also included Justin enjoying a 2 hour (personal record) hike up Mammoth Mountain while Jen relaxed playing some Animal Crossing. We watched the sunset at Minaret Vista caught some fun photos of the grassy fields.
Thursday, June 24th. Although we applied for Half Dome permits 6 months prior and got declined, we were able to apply again two days before and got them! Half Dome is a 17.5 mile trail (including walking back to our vehicles) with 4,800 ft in elevation gain.
We made our way into the Yosemite National Park the day before our big hike and explored Tuolumne Meadows and Olmsted Point. Unfortunately, since we did not get accepted for permits until 2 days before, we were unable to camp near Half Dome. Instead, we were able to stay at Yosemite View Lodge which was just outside the park. The view was spectacular with the Merced River running right outside our back door.
Friday, June 25th. Friday, June 25th. We woke up to the alarm blaring all too early at 3 am. We pulled ourselves together, made breakfast, and packed up our car. It is hard to describe the feeling of driving into a national park so early in the morning. We drive hoping not to meet any unwelcomed animals and anticipation grows as we head into the pitch black night. The road is curvy and long…and it feels even longer when you cannot see very far ahead.
Thankfully we arrive safely at our designation 30 minutes out from our hotel. We can now see a few lights around us; bobbing headlamps in the distance show us where everyone is walking. We quickly park our car and catch up to a small group. We are both comforted that more experienced Half Dome hikers are leading the way. And so the journey began at 5 am.
These photos were all taken along the very steep Mist Trail. You must take this trail on your way up to Half Dome. For those who aren’t willing to commit 12 hours of their day to doing Half Dome, then Mist Trail is a great, challenging, and rewarding hike as well. You will go up over 600 steps, but be able to see the unforgettable waterfalls called Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall.
The next photos are all taken from Sub Dome and Half Dome, both of which require permits to go to the top. We were met by a park ranger who checked our permits and shared some information. From the park ranger, we learned that lightning strikes Half Dome at least once every month. If there is even a slight chance of thunder or lightning, you want to avoid going up. It turns out that if lightning strikes water even 10 miles away, it can travel up the cables. Be sure to check the weather before you go!
These steep cables are at a 45-55 degree angle and allow you to pull yourself up the last 400 feet to get to the top of Half Dome. Between waiting for people and resting, going up the cables took about 30 minutes. Then after you get to the top, walk to the far side of Half Dome, and you are met with the spectacular view of Yosemite Valley!
Friday, June 25th. Friday, June 25th. We woke up to the alarm blaring all too early at 3 am. We pulled ourselves together, made breakfast, and packed up our car. It is hard to describe the feeling of driving into a national park so early in the morning. We drive hoping not to meet any unwelcomed animals and anticipation grows as we head into the pitch black night. The road is curvy and long…and it feels even longer when you cannot see very far ahead.
Thankfully we arrive safely at our designation 30 minutes out from our hotel. We can now see a few lights around us; bobbing headlamps in the distance show us where everyone is walking. We quickly park our car and catch up to a small group. We are both comforted that more experienced Half Dome hikers are leading the way. And so the journey began at 5 am.
These photos were all taken along the very steep Mist Trail. You must take this trail on your way up to Half Dome. For those who aren’t willing to commit 12 hours of their day to doing Half Dome, then Mist Trail is a great, challenging, and rewarding hike as well. You will go up over 600 steps, but be able to see the unforgettable waterfalls called Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall.
The next photos are all taken from Sub Dome and Half Dome, both of which require permits to go to the top. We were met by a park ranger who checked our permits and shared some information. From the park ranger, we learned that lightning strikes Half Dome at least once every month. If there is even a slight chance of thunder or lightning, you want to avoid going up. Be sure to check the weather before you go!
These steep cables are at a 45-55 degree angle and allow you to pull yourself up the last 400 feet to get to the top of Half Dome. Between waiting for people and resting, going up the cables took about 30 minutes. Then after you get to the top, walk to the far side of Half Dome, and you are met with the spectacular view of Yosemite Valley!
