On our first full day in Yosemite, we left Yosemite Valley and drove into Hetch Hetchy.
Hetch Hetchy is a beautiful valley that was turned into a reservoir for San Francisco's water supply following the San Francisco earthquake and fire. We went on a hike there toward the waterfall.
On our way back into Yosemite Valley, we were stoked when we saw a nice Yosemite sign and stopped to take a few photos of it.
Another tradition we have when we go to Yosemite is stopping by Moonbow Espresso when we cross through the city of Mariposa. Moonbow Espresso is a cute mom and pop coffee shop with friendly owners and fantastic drinks; Katie swears by their soy chai latte. We chatted with the owner for a bit, watched a hitchhiker get picked up to go to Yosemite, and then decided to check out the shops on the main street of Mariposa before departing.
Next, we started our drive into Yosemite. Our soundtrack for the road was Eddie Vedder's songs for the movie Into the Wild. The hills on the way into the park were covered with gorgeous California Golden Poppies, which I don't see very often. We stopped a bit before entering the park to get some fresh air by the river and start some filming for the documentary Katie and Jake are working on.
We didn't have time for a hike on our first day in the park since we had to wait to check in to Curry Village, but we did have time to stop by Tunnel View before dinner to get a glimpse of the valley.
After checking out Tunnel View, we made our way over to Swinging Bridge to cook dinner. Burrito night is our favorite way to start out camping trips, and the view over dinner was incredible.
Yesterday, I returned from a week-long trip to Yosemite with my friends Katie and Jake. Last summer when we went to Yosemite, we found a restaurant called Paul's Place while we were staying in Merced the night before driving into the park. It was such a fun place with delicious and cheap food, so we had to make it a tradition and return to it this year (twice in a span of 12 hours). My favorite things about Paul Place are the Starving Student Menu - where you can get a huge breakfast for $5.50 - and the beautiful glass etching of Yosemite Valley on the front door of the restaurant.
Sacramento State's gymnastics team faced UC Davis and University of Alaska Anchorage at the Nest on Friday. The Hornets came in first place with a season-high score of 195.275. Davis came in second, and Alaska in third.
This was the final home meet for seniors Elideth Guerrero, Kailey Hansen, Kaila Kilwein, Maddie Montoya, Katie Osaki, and Ashley Wooff.
Sacramento State's men's basketball team faced Montana State in the Nest Saturday night at 7 p.m. 1,001 fans were in attendance, which ranks as the second-highest turnout of the season.
Going into the game, the Hornets and the Montana State Bobcats were tied for eighth place in the Big Sky Conference. The winner would advance to the Big Sky Conference Tournament since Eastern Washington fell to Weber State earlier in the day.
The Hornets defeated the Bobcats with a score of 84-59. They played strong throughout the game, going into the second half with a 17-point lead.
This was the final home game for seniors Joey Quigley, Kendell Groom and Jordan Salley.