Yosemite

Discovering Yosemite in a Cabana Van!

This time we explored Northern California and Yosemite National Park via camper van. It was our first time doing anything like this so nervous was an understatement. We landed in SFO (San Francisco) and grabbed our Cabana Van from a parking lot that had a Target, Trader Joes and everything else you may need to make your trip comfortable. We went grocery shopping and grabbed salmon, eggs, turkey, bread, drinks, and veggies so we can use the van kitchen and not worry about stopping. But since we were in the San Fran we ended up stopping at Bangkok House Thai noodles for the best pad thai noodles we have ever had. Just wow. Words cannot describe the flavor. Sorry my mouth is watering thinking about those noodles. Tired and finally full after our long flight we parked the van and slept near the Golden Gate Bridge at H Dana Bower rest stop. This was our first night and I was nervous about "sleeping in public" but it was all good until some jerks woke the whole site up at 6AM blasting music and slamming beers. We couldn't wait to head to Yosemite.

Before we left the area we stopped by the Muir Woods but discovered we needed a parking reservation so we just hiked at nearby Mount Tamalpais State Park. Parking was HARD to find but the trail was extremely nice and had a few different landscapes. After hiking about 4 miles we tried to shower in the van but we discovered that we parked on a slant and needed a flat surface for proper drainage. Since California is nowhere near flat we had to drive around pretty much all the way to Oakland in our towels because we already got naked and thought finding a flat spot would be easy and just down the road. BOY oh BOY were we wrong. After showering and attending a baby shower we were off to Yosemite.

Along the way to Yosemite: We stopped at Calaveras Big Tree State Park. We paid like $10-15 dollars to enter the park because our pass didn't work here as it is only for national parks (mostly). We hiked in our Amazon sandals around an easy 1-2 mile trail. Saw giant sequoia trees for the first time ever. Like these trees are HUGE. We were so captivated by the beauty that we left late and made the first van life mistake. Driving through the night.

We were trying to reach our Colfax Springs Campsite that we booked on Hipcamp but got lost in the night because we made a wrong turn. I was out of the van going up and down secluded streets with a flashlight trying to find any sign of the campsite. We ended up needing to do a K turn on a cliff to turn back around. It was so scary doing it in a van, at night, in unfamiliar territory but I cannot lie Kam put that van in sport mode and handled business. Team work makes the dream work here because I got out to watch as Kam backed up so he wouldn't drive off the cliff. Once we got back to the main road we had to find a signal to get the GPS coordinates or the owners phone number to call. We got a signal and our bearings; Come to find out the campsite was only a mile away down the main road. "Won't he do it."

We finally arrived and got confused about which site was ours because someone was laying in the spot we thought was ours. He was just there raw dogging the outdoors, no tent, no tarp, just sleeping bag... wild. It's still dark so I got out again to find the spot and the van got stuck on a cliff again so we had to do another K turn with me spotting again. We just ended up backing into the spot we booked and called it a night the guy moved to another spot. Turns out he worked at the rafting place and was just crashing because the spot was open. No biggie, he was a nice guy tho.

Upon Morning we realized the campsite was stunningly beautiful. We had views of 4 waterfalls just from our site alone! We woke up right before sunrise and I made us some salmon breakfast burritos under the orange cotton candy morning sky. The campsite was only 15 mins away from the park entrance but when we went that particular entrance was closed because of road repair. So that meant we needed to drive over an hour to the other Yosemite entry.

We arrived at the park around 7am and there was STILL tons of traffic. We waited about 20-30 mins in traffic to enter the park. We drove to the closest parking lot to hike the Mist Trail. We still had a hard time finding a parking spot this early, so we waited a little and snagged a spot from some climbers heading out for the day.

A Day in Yosemite Hiking the Mist Trail: This is a moderate to hard 6 mile trek up to Vernal and Nevada falls. We planned on doing the entire hike but the trail closed due to erosion along the trail so it required us to double back after Vernal Falls to head up to Nevada Falls. That only added an extra half mile. We were doing well until we stopped to get ready for the mist. Yes, actual MIST from the falls will get you soaked to the bone without the proper gear. We expected this but Kam did not get ready. As I'm putting the food and stuff in the dry bag and throwing on my north face hydroVent jacket we have Kam standing doing NOTHING. He didn't bring anything waterproof. We decided to go up anyway and you guessed it, someone got WET. The falls were so intense that we couldn't even lift our heads up. It felt like buckets of water were being thrown at us! On top of that the water was FREEZING. I was fine but Kam turned around before we could reach the top. He was miserable in the falls because he was unprepared. I was pressed like a panini. We headed back down completing just 2.5 miles of our 6.5 mile hike. Kam was too cold so we never made it to Nevada Falls. I legit had thee most fun on this trail because It was such a unique hike and I was prepared! By the time we walked back to the van we were mostly dry. The benefit of having the house with you at all times is you have everything you need. We changed our clothes and went off to our next adventure in the park.

Ride the shuttle: Clearly I'm a fan of the free shuttle systems in the national parks. It's mostly because there is no guarantee that you can find another site after moving the whip. We stopped for some ice cream and a souvenir at the camp store inside the park. I would recommend getting on the bus at the stop before the last one. Because you can snag a seat when everyone gets off and on at the last stop. The ride was less than an hour and we pretty much saw the entire park. When I say there are waterfalls everywhere you turn I mean that! you can see some from the trails, the parking lot, the road and probably the toilet if they weren't covered. That's why this park is perfect for the non hiker, you can see so much from the streets and buses.

Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls Trail: This trail is super close to the bus stop so we hopped off and walked less than a quarter mile to see the lower portion of Yosemite falls. It was so magical, I have never seen any waterfall so big. This spot was SUPER CROWDED, the most crowded trail I have ever been on. But everyone deserves to see lower Yosemite falls. I bet the upper falls trail is far less crowded. We learned our lesson the hard way so after we finished we headed back to our campsite for dinner and sunset.

Back at the campsite we took our footage and photos before it got too dark. Then we made burrito bowls and watched the sunset before we went to sleep. We knocked out early because we had to leave at like 3AM to make it to the airport in time for our 7am flight out of SFO.

We loved van life for so many reasons but mostly because we had our whole house with us the entire time, I found comfort in that. We always had access to a bathroom which is a big deal to most people on the road. We didn't have to deal with smelly gas stations or dirty bathrooms at any point of the trip. The only downfall is needing to fix things. Kam hit the breaks a little too hard and a drawer flung open and got jammed. It was a big problem because that drawer being open blocked the bathroom door so we couldn't use the bathroom. Which was my favorite part of the van. We pulled over on the side of the road and tried to fix it. We found a tool kit stashed away in the van, so we ended up unscrewing a piece of wood that was preventing the door from closing. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the screw back in but we did find a pregnancy test tucked away in the back of the removed drawer. We ended up leaving it for someone to use for their next pregnancy scare in the Cabana Van!

Check out the Vlog here!

Full disclosure cabana vans covered the bill for the van in exchange for content, making this a paid promo (imma still be honest tho)