The Mariposa Grove

Sunday was our last day at Yosemite. Camille wanted to see the Mariposa Grove of giant Sequoias on our way home. The grove is near the south border of Yosemite, a good hour in the opposite direction of Sacramento and the airport. I'd been to Yosemite a few times before but this was Camille's first time so we had to go see the trees.

We went on a short, two mile hike, through the grove.

There was a ranger at the tunnel tree, taking pictures of tourists. We got in line. I remembered a tree from my childhood that you could drive through. I wondered if perhaps my memory had it wrong because this tunnel tree was not wide enough for a car, but no, there were originally two trees. The larger one, the one you could drive through, died and fell in 1969.

We looked at the trees and the chipmunks.

And we laughed. Silliness is required on these weekends together.  Our weekend was full of long talks about life and men and family; and silly laughter, erupting with snorts and ending with tears streaming and gasping breaths of giggles.

We're already plotting where we will go next year.  I feel very lucky to have a daughter who no longer needs much mothering; a daughter who is a good friend.