Yosemite and More

I grew up in Northern California, no not Sacramento or San Francisco, those are in Central California. Anyone from where I grew up would tell you Northern California starts a little below Red Bluff. Anyway.....I took a trip up to see my brother who lives in Mt. Shasta. While on the way up, back and there I had a little time to photograph. It has been many years since I drove out Highway 299 to the Big Valley area. Along the way I spotted this horse and cows in a field, stopped and just enjoyed the peacefulness in these uneasy times. How peaceful? Well I was able to literally stop in the middle of the road to take the photograph above and the one following. The next one is heavily cropped. The Ruffed Legged Hawk was quite a ways away, but I caught it hovering in the wind before it lunged and got some critter. On one of the side roads I came across this beautiful little church. Now known as the Glenburn Community Church is was originally the Burgettville Church and built in 1885. As I me...

 The Eastern Sierra is always a good place for Fall Colors.  This trip took me over Tioga Pass and down to the Bishop area. This is well south of Sonora Pass, my last post. My intent was to go almost directly to the Bishop area but as I came off of Tioga Pass I saw some wonderful color and decided to spend a little time along Lee Vining Creek. Before I hit Tioga Pass I came across a very still Tenya Lake reflecting Medicott Dome. The air here contrasted greatly with the Eastside. You'll notice in the background a little haze. Smoke from wildfires was really affecting the area. The Aspens along Power House Road were outstanding. If you keep an eye out you'll spot this wonderful water fall alongside the road. After Power House Road I stopped at the June Lake Loop. Always a good spot for color. There's always one in every family. Next came the Sand Canyon outside of Bishop. The smoke in Bishop was actually not bad, but as I went higher in significantly increased.  Aspens lik...

 I haven't posted in a while and have several posts I want to work on so I thought I would start with my trip to Sonora Pass. I went looking for  Fall colors. As it always is there were spots that were great, mixed and past. Just a closeup of some of the Aspen leaves. I liked the contrast going on here. The Aspen, Fir Trees and Granite as  a backdrop. This was on the east side of the pass Some of the Aspen are pretty straight, certainly the taller ones, but this one exemplifies the other kind. It was higher up and only about 10 feet tall. This is called Rubber Rabbitbrush. It actually contains a form of rubber and was once considered a possible commercial source. Turned out there was just too small amount of rubber for the effort involved. Go, See, Enjoy, Stay Safe and Photograph Dave

Finally getting around to posting from my trip to the Eastside of the Sierras This time in Bodie I tried to focus more on the smaller aspects. I took plenty of  landscape type shots but am going to post mostly closer shots and most of them are in black and white or sepia tone. For a rough and tumble town Bodie had it's refinements as well. Besides the fact that it only had one or two churches. As in most boom and bust towns there were those who were well off and could afford little shows of  refinement including in the architecture of the buildings. This next one I just like with all the contrasts. The texture of the wood, I wonder how  much longer this will stand? Bodie is littered with machinery scattered across the property. I used one of Photo Shops presets to get a little grittier  of an image on this one This was probably once a major conduit for water either to serve one of the mines or...

I decided to take a closer look at Panum Crater a plug volcano near Mono Lake. It actually has two rims. The outer (my trail) was formed first and the inner built up over time.  After driving in, there were two paths to take, the left trail was the plug trail (inner) and you could see where it went down and then up. The other trail was the rim  trail (outer), it looked more even and I decided to take the 'EASIER' route. Boy did I not get a nice even hike. It went up, down a little then up a lot, several times. When I thought I was about half way through it turned out to be about a quarter, if that. And all of it in sand like pumice. Here's the view as you drive up It's kinda hard to see, but I'm on the outer rim. It blends with the background but I assure you I am much higher. You'll see. If you've see my photos of Mono Lake you know about the Tufas, well that little jut on the middle  right is where I do most of ...

During my recent trip to the east side of the Sierras I of course visited  Mono Lake. It's been almost 2 years since I've been in the area and was happy to see the lake has risen quite a bit. Some of the Tufas you were able to walk all the way around  now have one side under water. A good sight to see. Mono lake is about 45' below its historic levels due to the Los Angeles Department of Water diverting the normal creek inflow into the lake. An agreement was reached  in the 70's to restore the lake level to about 20' below historic levels. Very slowly, with drought years intervening, that seems to be happening. I've taken some beautiful sunrises at Mono Lake, every time I try for a sunset the clouds seem to disappear. I got lucky this time, but first some shots I took  before sunset. With the wind making the water a little choppy I didn't get the wonderful reflections the Tufas can offer. But there were some other oppo...

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...