Tuesday, March 30, 2010

ABC Wednesday / "K" and "J"


They are off to fly their green kite at the Huntington Beach Kite Festival, March 2010.

I was out of town last week so I missed the "J" posting.
Better late than never, I hope.

Who spilled the jar of jelly beans?

The theme is "K" this week.
I have also included "J" since I was unable to post last week.

Outdoor Wednesday / El Capitan and Half Dome Shrouded in Pink, Yosemite National Park, California USA

Click on photos to enlarge!
This is El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in California USA.
Can you see the heart in the center of the face of the monolith?
I want to say, "I ♥ you too, El Capitan!
The pink clouds beautifully adorned the valley last Tuesday evening.

Here is a close up of the ♥.

This is a view of the valley from the Tunnel View area with El Capitan on the left, Half Dome in the far back, Sentinel Rock, Cathedral Rocks and Bridalveil Falls on the right.

This is Half Dome all covered in pink!

These shots of Half Dome were taken from the meadow near Curry Village at about 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 23, 2010.

This was our only "pink" evening during our stay, but, the other evenings were just as beautiful!
More on those nights soon!

Watery Wednesday / The Merced River at Yosemite National Park, California USA

Our hotel room was right on the Merced River just outside the west gate of Yosemite National Park in El Portal.
I took these photos from our second level balcony in the early morning on March 25, 2010.
We left our window open about 2" during the night so we could hear the roar of this mighty river.
It was in the 30's outside overnight but, we stayed warm inside.
Click on photos to enlarge!




















Monday, March 29, 2010

That's My World Tuesday / Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, California USA

The road to the Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park was still closed when we visited here, last week.
We chose to walk the 2 miles because we were determined to be among the Giant Sequoias, which are very impressive and the largest of living things.
Here we are at the sign that says "we have now reached the grove."
The rest of the way means trudging on narrow trails in the snow...
One mile in and one mile out!
That's only the lower grove.
To include the upper grove would mean, add another 2 miles each way in deep snow.
We have been here before, but never in the tail end of winter.
We'll save the upper grove for later spring.

We soon spy a beautiful bridge which crosses a rushing creek.
There are only a few people back in the grove, which is VERY nice.

This fallen tree has been here for several centuries!

This is a view from the opposite side...
 and, my husband stands with the Fallen Monarch.

Some incredible time has passed...

We followed the path through the grove to reach these giants...The Bachelor and Three Graces.

We passed remnants of past fires.

Meandering creeks...

another bridge...

Finally, the Grizzly Giant comes into view.
This giant measures in at 96 feet in circumference and 27.6 feet in diameter at its base.
It, too, has been scorched by fire in the past.


and...moving on, we came to the California Tunnel Tree.



There was so much more to enjoy in this grove and we didn't even get to the Upper Grove this time.
I wish I could post so many more photos of our time here.
But, I will end with just a few scenes that caught my eye on our way out...

A lot of brilliant green moss caught my eye...

Trees scorched by fire left standing for many years...

Melting snow creates little reflections...

The swirling bark and moss on this tree caught my eye...

Oh!  How I ♥ Yosemite!

That's My World Tuesday

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot / Favorite Things



Click on photos to enlarge!
One of my favorite things is to visit beautiful places like Yosemite National Park in California, USA.
People sit and gaze at the view of Yosemite Valley for quite a long time right here at the Tunnel View.
El Capitan is towering on the left, Half Dome is at the top middle, Bridalveil Falls is on the right.
My husband and I stood here each evening last week before moving on to our other favorite spots to watch the giant granite monoliths light up in the glow of the sunsets.
Many famous photographs have been shot from this very spot over the years.

See It Sunday / One, Photo Sunday / Still

 Click on photo to enlarge!
Only one pine cone on this entire tree.
Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite National Park, California USA
March 24, 2010

The theme for See It Sunday is "one."

The theme for Photo Sunday is "still."

Macro Monday / A Snowy Walk in the Woods - Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, California USA

We took a 2 mile hike, this past week, up to the Mariposa Grove of the Giant Sequoias in Yosemite National Park.
The elevation gain was 1000 feet in that two miles.  
There is still a lot of snow at the 5,000 ft. and higher elevations which is why we had to walk the road rather than drive to the grove.
I saw this lonely Black Oak leaf lying in the snow.

I thought this patch of melting snow looked like a ghost at first.
Then I decided it looked more like an owl...
But, today (3 days later) it might not look like anything at all.
March 25, 2010