Yosemite and More

I recently took a trip to the east side of the Sierras. On the way over I stopped in Yosemite. This trip I tried to focus on the wild flowers I found, but of course some of the iconic features caught my eye.  As you can see the water is still flowing, though I don't think it will last too much longer. There is still some snow at the highest elevations. Behind the Church I found this delicate flowers blooming.  I believe it is a Yellow Salsify, a member of the Aster family and not native to Yosemite. Several of the flowers I came across I couldn't identify. If anyone has the answer I would surely appreciate it if you could leave a comment. I spent a lot more time trying to identify these flowers than I did editing. I found out what this one is. It's milkweed, a plant that butterflies  rely on during their annual migration This next one I took mainly for the bug. I think it's some kind of wasp but it isn't...

I recently went over to the other side of the Sierras via   Yosemite and Tioga Pass. My destination ended up being Bodie (surprise) and Mono Lake. On the way I took these (and a lot more). Photos of Bodie and Mono Lake to come The sky was great on my way over. Mostly deep blue and lots of puffy clouds.The rivers and creeks were running high and there was snow on the mountains. I stopped at Olmstead Point but instead of following the paths I crossed the road and climbed up the rock face and got this image of the High Sierra and in the middle Tenya Lake. Along the way I stopped several times to photograph, mostly the landscape. I was surprised at one stop to spot this flower. I believe it to be a  Sego Lilly though my flower book says that this is a little west of it's usual range.  Just added an app to my phone. This is really a Smoky Mariposa. Taken a bunch of miles from the town of Mariposa, Ca. I...