Anchored sail boats by Morro Rock.
Taken from Glacier Point.
Merced River, El Capitan to the left, Three Brothers to the right.
Such beauty. The serenity here is soul filling.
Here you can walk through the forests and open meadows and the elevation is 8,619 feet.
After about an hour drive from the entance you enter a long tunnel cut therough the mountain and as you exit the very next view you see is this famous view of the Yosemite Valley. Of all the natural places I have ever been it still ranks at the very top of my list....period and end of report
At 8,600 feet these pristine open meadows speak of a timelessness that erases all but the most needed feelings. Things that so often trouble our souls seem to so gently and naturally get put back into perspective.. In winter it is closed with feet of snow and subject to the capricious nature of impending winter storms.
Since 1980 scientists have been monitoring Co2 which is killing a portion of the trees at Mammoth it comes from a young volcano on the southwest rim of Long Valley Caldera,
" Most people are on the world, not in it — have no conscious sympathy or relationship to anything about them — undiffused, separate, and rigidly alone like marbles of polished stone, touching but separate.” John Muir
I grew up in Capitola in the 60's and became a surfer at an early age which carried onto into my adult life. I thought in my arrogance and pride nothing could surpass its beauty. When I saw Yosemite for the first time in my 30's I realized just how wrong I was.
These rock faces to the south of Yosemite Valley which include Middle Cathedral iare recognized as one the the 50 " Classic Climbs of North America." It seems that in Yosemie eveywherw you look your eyes are flooded with another breathtaking scene. Keep in mind that Yosemite Valley only representys 1% of the total park.
The South Fork passes through Wawona . Sitting on its bank under a tree as the gentle breezes flood your senses with pine scents can be a transforming experience . When you cast your eyes upon the smooth various shaped rocks made smooth from years of water passing over them it is a humbling sight.
The fires that often rage through Yosemite can be so devastating. After a two day photo trip which took me over Tioga Pass to the Nevada side of the Sierras I was leaving the park when to my surprise as if in a poetic gesture mother nature clothed her own wounds from fire , with the image of burned tree spires silhouetted in a golden California sunset. I called this picture Beauty for Ashes because even in her visible damage she regaled herself in such elegant beauty.
At almost two miles high the Tioga Pass leads you down to highway 395 on the eastern side of the Sierra mountains. Standing at 9,943 feet these trees can great the clouds in thier own home. The air here is fresh, ckean and the sparkles with high mountain light at times. In winter Tioga Pass is closed due to large amounts of snow and severe winter storms. Here these sentinels stand as they have for years where earth meets sky to welcome all who pass by.
