Black and White

Since Ansel Adams did all his work in Yosemite in black and white, I'll end my collection of Yosemite pictures with my favorites that I've converted to that format. Thanks, Yosemite and thanks to all my friends for such a wonderful trip.

Tunnel View

Tunnel View is perhaps one of the most iconic images in all of Yosemite, made famous by Ansel Adams. On the left is El Capitan, on the right is Bridalveil Fall, and in the center and a little further back is Half Dome.

Coming out of the Wawona Tunnel on Route 41, the view of Yosemite Valley is amazing, which, unfortunately, can cause quite a traffic snarl.




My scuba group are amazing friends; I just wish we could see each other more often, especially since Mallik and I are now out West.

Day 160 - Mariposa Grove

This video clip sums up our visit to the Mariposa Grove . . . but the trees truly are spectacular. At the top is Faithful Couple, where two trees grew together so close, their trunks merged into one.

Day 159 - People I Dig

And Chris and Erin just enjoyed being with each other . . .

Day 158 - People I Dig

Joe and Laura are in the meadow in front of Yosemite Falls.

Day 157 - People I Dig

For this trip, my entire scuba group came to Yosemite; Mallik now lives in Seattle and organized our lodging in the park. He's standing here in front of the "Grizzly Giant" giant sequoia tree in Yosemite's Mariposa Grove, a tree that's 209 feet tall and is estimated to be between 1900 and 2400 years old.

Day 156 - Waterfalls

And the massive snow melt even makes impromptu waterfalls appear in unlikely spots . . . it won't last, but it's pretty while it does.

Day 155 - Water

The same snow melt that makes the waterfalls so beautiful does the same for the streams and creeks . . .

Yosemite Falls

At 2425 feet, Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America.























It technically flows over three stages, but from the valley floor, only the first and third are visible. The video clip is from the third stage, which is the most easily accessible, but as you can see, the high volume of water practically soaked everyone. And as this clip from last night's NBC Nightly News points out, the volume is so great, a tanker truck could be filled . . . in two seconds.

Day 154 - El Capitan

El Capitan is a 3000-foot sheer granite monolith in the north side of Yosemite Valley; it's stunning to look at from the bottom and, when driving through the park last Friday night, we could see the lights from the climbers camping as part of their ascent.

Half Dome

Half Dome is a granite dome that rises almost a mile (4737 feet) from floor of Yosemite Valley, is one of the park's most iconic natural features, and is even featured on California's state quarter.

The weather last weekend was dicey at best, but the clouds parted enough to allow for a few good shots, with the exception of the view from Sentinel Bridge, when the clouds completely obscured Half Dome a minute or two after I took the last shot.

Day 153 - Black Oak

The black oak trees in Yosemite seem to have a yellowish tinge to their leaves.

Bridalveil Fall

Bridalveil Fall is one of the first things you see as you enter Yosemite Valley from the west end; at 617 feet, it's one of the park's smaller waterfalls. And California had so much snowfall this winter, the amount of water coming over the falls was way above normal, to the point where hikers at the bottom came back soaked.

Day 152 - Snow

While driving through Yosemite on Sunday from the west side to the Mariposa Grove on the southeast side, it started to snow, and didn't let up the rest of the day.

Snow, on Memorial Day weekend . . .

Day 151 - Extreme Close-Up

Um, no . . . no handouts here.

Day 150 - Deer

There were four deer feeding in a small clearing next to a stream, and I was using my Uncle Max's hunting techniques to get as close to them as possible to take their pictures, but then a group of noisy tourists spotted them and they fled into the woods.

The deer, that is.

Day 149 - Steller's Jay

The Steller's jay is one of two jays common to Yosemite (the Western scrub jay being the other), but the Stellers' were surprisingly quiet for jays.

Day 148 - Snow Plant

The Snow Plant is found extensively in Yosemite, but only right after the ground thaws. It's a parasitic plant that feeds on the fungi that lives under the decomposing pine needles in very moist ground.

Day 147 - Texture

This bark almost shredded like well-made barbecue . . .

Day 146 - Texture

Another tree, another completely different bark texture.