Glacier Point

Glacier Point was our destination this morning. It took about an hour and a half to get to our first stop, Washburn Point. It's just about impossible to picture the magnificence of the scene. Half Dome is on the left. Nevada Fall is on the right and Vernal Fall is in the center.



Here's Vernal Fall a little closer. You can hike up to the top from Yosemite Valley and there are people on the top with a bridge going across the top.



This is a closer shot of Nevada Fall. There is so much beauty in the park, but one has to remember it can be dangerous too. This weekend two people died, one was swimming in the pool above Nevada Fall and was caught in the current sweeping him over the falls. The other happened on El Capitan as a rock fell from another climber hitting the climber below him.


We drove to Glacier Point and began the slight climb to the top. We stopped to admire another view of Half Dome.


We made it to Glacier Point looking down at Yosemite Valley. It was another magnificent view. That's Upper Yosemite Fall towards the center.


We headed back down the mountain stopping at this meadow for lunch.


The wildflowers were asking me to take a picture. :)


We were going to go back to Mariposa Grove, but the sky was getting pretty dark, so we decided to go down to Yosemite Valley. We hiked down the path through this meadow.


We were heading to the Swinging Bridge.


We made it to the bridge with another great view of Upper Yosemite Fall.


We headed back to the car, but not before getting a picture looking back the other way.


It was another awe inspiring day of views. We are really loving Yosemite!

Location:Yosemite National Park

Photographing With Ansel Adams

We spent the weekend outside the park. The crowds are larger on the weekend, so we did the regular chores that need to be done.

We signed up for a photography class at The Ansel Adams Gallery this afternoon. We hadn't planned on it, but after the rave reviews Rudy and Debbie gave it, we decided we'd do it.

Jim uses a Nikon DSLR and I have a Canon point and shoot (thanks Susan A.!) The class goes over digital photography fundamentals.


Ansel Adams would come to Yosemite often. While in Yosemite, he had frequent contact with the Best family, owners of Best's Studio, who allowed him to practice on their old square piano. He later married their daughter in the studio. and The family still owns the house in which the gallery is located.


Who wouldn't want to take a photography lesson here! Kirk, our instructor, was wonderful.


We learned how to read the histogram on our cameras, how to correct a picture that is underexposed or overexposed, and how to compose a picture.


This was my attempt of speeding my shutter size. This Columbine was blowing in the wind.


We were on to our next lesson. Kirk led our group of 5 to different parts of Buck's Field where he taught us about our cameras. I had no idea my camera had so many functions.


Here's my Ansel Adams attempt.


We also tried catching the Upper Yosemite Falls in action by speeding up our shudder speed.



The class was a wonderful experience. We both learned so much in the four hours of instruction. Now, we have to get out there and practice. :)

Location:Yosemite National Park

Tioga Pass To Mono Lake And Back Again

Today we were heading to Tioga Pass. It is the highest paved road in the Sierra Nevadas

First, we had to stop by the Yosemite sign and have our picture taken.


We began our climb. Snow was still on the side of the road which usually doesn't open until May.


As we made our climb, we admired the snow on the mountains.


We stopped by the side of the road to catch this little waterfall. Next stop was the
the Olmsted Overlook for a great view of Half Dome. That's it in the middle, a little to the left.


A closer view. We read a sign that said if you looked with binoculars, you could probably see climbers that looked like a trail of ants. We saw them with our binoculars.


I zoomed in with the camera and there is the trail of people in the middle, a little to the left.


We stopped at Tenaya Lake to admire this alpine view.


We made it to Tuolumne Meadows with snow covered mountains surrounding the large sea of green



We stopped to eat our picnic lunch and this Stellar Jay watched us carefully hoping we would drop some crumbs.



As we passed over Tioga Pass, we stopped again to see this view, the mountain was a much darker brown than the others reflecting into the water, making it a darker color.


There was one more lookout with another gorgeous view.


We made our way through the pass stopping at a convenience store for something to drink. We realized we had cell coverage so we made phone calls, checked e-mails, and I was able to post two blogs.

While we were sitting there, I took this picture of a gull and thought that was strange seeing it there.


We also had this view of Mono Lake. I told Jim it looked a lot like The Great Salt Lake. When we went into the store, we found out it was a salt lake. We saw postcards of some neat formations and asked if they were nearby. They were only about 5 miles down the road. We had to see them.


Mono Lake dropped more than 45 vertical feet when water was diverted to Los Angeles from 1941 until 1982.

We went to the South Tufa Trail. When calcium rich springs flows up from the bottom, it bonds to carbonates in the lake water. Together, they form calcium carbonate, a type of limestone. This solid material builds on itself, gradually forming a tufa tower. When the lake levels drop, the tufa towers are exposed. It looks like a coral reef.


The shapes coming out of the water give you an almost out of this world experience.


The sun was just right and there was no wind causing reflections in the water.


Everywhere we went, there was a different view.





They were so different from anything we have ever seen.


It was truly a day of differences, from the alpine lakes and snow to a sandy seashore in high desert.


It was getting late and we knew we still had to go back over Tioga Pass. We headed back without any other stops making it back to the Yosemite entrance.



It still took another hour and half to get back to the rig from this entrance, but what a wonderful day we had!

Location:Yosemite National Park