Every summer my family and I go on our annual family vacation. It is usually centered around the location of The National Down Syndrome Convention and this year it was in Sacramento! This meant that it was a good base to do a little exploring. So we created our itinerary and decided to go to Lake Tahoe, Mammoth Lakes and Yosemite. I did not end up taking many photos at the actual convention in Sacramento, but this post is mainly about our trip to these other three GORGEOUS places that you definitely must see for yourself!
Lake Tahoe
First off...Tahoe is crazy expensive. Gas is expensive, accommodation is expensive, food is expensive...the list goes on and on...If you have a lot of people splitting the cost this is no big deal, but for a family of 4 we decided to take the cheaper route and stay in Reno, Nevada. The drive is about 45 minutes, but the money being saved made it worth it. The most picturesque thing we did is go hiking up the Eagle Falls trail up to the beautiful eagle lake! It is a pretty easy 2 hour hike (my sister had a meltdown & it took us way longer....but what can you do?) and I took a MILLION photos. It was so hard only picking the few I put on here.
Mammoth Lakes
This is the hidden jewel of the Sierra Nevada's in my opinion. For some reason it never gets talked about? It is only an hour away from Yosemite National park and you get to explore the gorgeous scenery without the insane crowds that you find at Yosemite. Honestly the photos speak for themselves....
The above food is from an incredible restaurant inside of a gas station! It is called Whoa Nellie Deli and it was featured on Diners Drive-in's and Dives! Definitely check it out if you are ever in the area.
Yosemite
Yosemite is famous for a reason! It was my first time at the park and I had high expectations. We got there at around 6am which I recommend, because the park is practically empty! That all very quickly changed as soon as the clock struck 8 and people began flooding in...I mean, you would have thought you were at Disney World...it was insanity. Definitely a must see and if you are big on hiking; do all the things! BUT my family is not big on hiking and we were a little turned off by all the people. I am glad I went and witnessed the beauty, but Mammoth Lakes scored higher for me.
Have any tips for future trips to the Sierra Nevada's? Comment below!
