I’m rebooting this blog as a mostly-travel blog – although I will still post articles and creative writing pieces/poems, of course, while on the road.  Let’s just say that recently, it looks as if a major, long term travel-related project is in my imminent future (more on this later).

Now for those visitors to my blog who have paid attention, you have realized that I haven’t posted regularly lately.  Actually this would be generous. I have stopped and started and sputtered and roared and then, horribly, coughed to a dead stop like a cheap, pathetic old V-8.  Let  me assure you, this situation shall be remedied shortly.

Until the details are ironed out and I know a bit more about what the path ahead will entail for me (and my partner in crime and in life (gypsytrampthief.wordpress.com) –  I’ll be posting some of my favorite travel writing I’ve done over the years.  Hope you enjoy, and thanks for sticking with this blog even with my prolonged absence from its pages.

To officially kick off this new chapter in the evolving story of this persnickety beast of a blog, here is a video covering  the nearly two consecutive months of solid travel I notched up a couple of summers ago (June 1-  July 20th, 2011).  all around this beautiful U.S. of A

It was a long and rambling backpack from NYC to Bonnaroo Music Festival in Tennessee to San Diego, CA, to Yosemite Valley, and finally to the Oregon Coast, the Oregon Cascades and Willamette Valley. Pictures are by my brother, Chris Ten Eyck of San Diego, CA, and myself, BeejMcKay of New York, NY.

Yosemite Valley HDR First Rays of Light, Yosemite National Park, Chikku Baiju Photographer  Photo posted on www.photobotos.com

Rays of Life

Life, like the planet we live

Gives us the feeling we spin and spin.

With joy and challenges to contend,

Love and fear linger near.

A choice for God removes the fears,

And triumphantly love appears.

The rays of light are always there

The love of God is ours to share.

The freedom to live within the love,

Is a gift from God above.

Photo by Dana Dysthe

Author: Eduardo González

The outdoor experience, particularly one of being in a coniferous forest, is not something one can necessarily share—it is something one must show.

How does one portray the feeling of discovery, awe, and freedom?

The feeling I felt gazing upon that forest as boy is beyond me. The only thing I can really say is that it was bewitching—a beauty that lasts a life time. Here I am ten years later and the memory is still vivid in my mind, the light fog hovering just below the canopy of those magnificent giants. The memory of the forest was one among many, for this time in the woods was part of a weeklong outdoor school program at Sly Park. The planetarium, the cabin mates, my counselor, the games, the rock wall, the animals, the hiking and even the man on the microphone saying “get your glass of ice-cold milk” every morning for breakfast. The whole impression was everlasting.

Sometime after my time at the outdoor school, my family was invited by a tía to spend a weekend camping in Yosemite Valley. We returned a couple years later but since that time in the early 2000’s I have not returned. It is incredible that for which a place that people from all over the world will travel to come see, I, living a mere three hour drive away, have not returned in nearly a decade. Even more baffling is the number of Californians that have never been.

Since the last trip to Yosemite, my outdoor experience diminished to nothing. It was not until my senior year in high school, when I volunteered as a counselor at Shady Creek Outdoor School, that I would visit another forest. That experience would change my life forever.

During my week as a counselor I fell in love with everything about the program. The environment was energizing and exciting, yet loving, peaceful and extremely beautiful. Moved by it all, I applied for the summer camp counselor position and later for the student naturalist program—a program which offers young college students, typically out of high school, the opportunity to experience the work of a naturalist. I then spent the next year living at the camp working for room and board.

I realized how much I enjoyed teaching and developed a passion for it and the natural world. The fact of the matter is, without the existence of such programs, I would have never led the life I have thus far. I had no plan out of high school, no prospects. A seed of interest planted as a boy grew into something I feel is much greater than I would have imagined. Though I am no longer with the program, I did not, and will not, let the desire for the natural world fade again. Years later and gathering my gear piece by piece I now have begun to backpack.

Such experiences and reflections lead me to think of the efforts to make such activities more accessible to the Hispanic and lower-income communities.

I am blessed to live fairly close to my favorite National Park, Yosemite, and I manage to get up there fairly often to shoot, climb and hike. This year, I added skiing and ice-skating to the list of things that give me yet another excuse to go there, not that I need one.

There is a phenomenon that draws photographers from all over the country for just a few days late in the month of February. Light from the setting sun illuminates Horsetail Falls as it cascades over the edge of El Capitan and it provides a beautiful natural spectacle, making the falls look like molten lava. But the conditions have to be just so. The area at the top of the falls that contains the snow that melts and feeds the falls has to be substantial enough to provide good flow. And the temperature has to be warm enough to melt the snow in the first place. And the sun cannot be obscured by clouds right at the moment of sunset. And because it is particularly challenging, photographers flock to it every year, crowding the few places that actually give you a clear shot of the falls.

Galen Rowell first photographed the phenomenon in 1973, but years would go by before it would become the draw that it is now. I decided to attempt to shoot Horsetail Falls this year. I was there — perhaps a bit early for the most ideal light conditions — and it was just too tempting to turn away, even though every photographer within 20 square miles of the place had their cameras pointed to that spot. I just wanted to see it with my own eyes.

As expected, there were a slew of people vying for the best vantage points to shoot the falls. Many of the photographers had been there for hours, and some had been coming for days already, getting skunked out by clouds all week. I showed up a mere hour before sunset.  The vibe was one of camaraderie— everyone sharing their  ideas for getting the best shot. Which lens is they planned to use. How they planned to compose the shot. Is the water starting to freeze? Why yes, I think it is! But as soon as the magic light began to illuminate the cliff, the chatter stopped and all you could hear was the clicking of dozens of shutters.

And despite the fact that we were all there, shooting the exact same subject, everyone had a little different vision about what they were trying to achieve. When I look at the image that I managed to capture, I see an angel frozen in the rock face, the setting sun illuminating her outstretched wings so that she looks lit from within — not frozen, but on fire.

The Merced River at the base of Vernal Falls

We spent autumn break of 2011 in Yosemite National Park, staying at Housekeeping Camp on the banks of The Merced River which offered a valley view of Yosemite Falls and Half Dome Checking out part of the Mist Trail sounded like an easy hike for our first day of exploring.

Hiking in the mist with my son, Nick.

Still climbing . . .

At 3:00 in the afternoon, we left the Happy Isles trailhead and hiked the steep, but paved foot path to Vernal Bridge, elevation 4,035 ft. Then we climbed 500 wet and slippery granite stairs to reach the top of Vernal Falls, elevation 5,044 ft. The mist felt exhilarating, and the views spectacular; we were inspired to continue forward to Nevada Falls, elevation 5,907 feet.

Vernal Falls

Around 5:30 p.m., after taking many photos along the way, Nevada Falls was in sight but still almost two miles away.  In October, the sun sets around 6:30. We stopped to rest and each consumed a tube of Gu energy gel along with more water.

Looking down from Vernal Falls

I half-hoped there would be a bus to transport us back down to the parking lot, as there is from Glacier Point, but of course there wasn’t one. Returning the same way we came–descending slick, stone steps in the dark seemed risky. There were many warning signs about falling into the river, and a series of posters of a young couple who’d recently disappeared there.

We turned on our head lamps as twilight fell and opted to take John Muir Trail back, 3.5 miles of rocky switchbacks, carved into the side of the mountain among trees, and land-mined with horse manure. We arrived back at our car, in time to catch dinner at a park restaurant before it closed at 9:00.

The next day, while  buying a souvenir tumbler painted with a map of Mist Trail, the park staff told us we’d chosen one of the most difficult hikes in Yosemite. Annually, they rescue over a hundred “guests” who make the climb up, but are unable to return down. And more people have died on beautiful Mist Trail than almost anywhere else in Yosemite.

The takeaway: Research any hike before you go forward. Know how long it will take, what you need to bring to safely traverse the distance, and be sure to assess its suitability for your physical condition.  Respect the beauty and hazards of nature.

Participate in this week’s photo challenge at:

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/forward/

Related articles

• Yosemite’s Quintessential Hike – The Mist Trail (adventureblog.nationalgeographic.com)
• Yosemite in the Winter (christiekiley.wordpress.com)

How about Yosemite Falls? Or Bridalveil Fall? Or Vernal Fall, up the Mist Trail? Beauteous, bounteous, thunderous flows of water are as much a part of the Yosemite springtime experience as are its massive, silent, granite sentries. Along the valley floor, the Merced River curls and tumbles its way west after first plummeting over Nevada and then Vernal Falls. And there are at least a dozen other waterfalls that plunge or cascade with audible gusto into the valley from above, some year round, some only when winter’s snow is melting, or during and after a rainstorm. These latter types of falls are known as “ephemerals” because of their transitory character.

Many of the falls can be seen or heard from various points in the Park; some require hiking, some do not. (As always if you’re planning to hike in a National Park, check with the Rangers for trail conditions.)

Bridalveil Fall is part of the valley view from the west shortly after you enter Yosemite National Park.

Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite Valley

You can see Yosemite Falls, upper and lower, from many places in the Park, even without getting out of your car.

Upper and lower Yosemite Falls

Getting to the top of Vernal Fall requires a trek along the Mist Trail from the Happy Isles of the Merced River.

Vernal Fall from the Mist Trail

Along the trail to Vernal you might catch a glimpse of Illilouette Fall in the distance. You can get closer to this fall and hear it from above by hiking from Glacier Point on the Panorama Trail.

Illilouette Fall

And Nevada Fall roars over the brink about a mile by trail above and beyond Vernal. You can also get to the top of Nevada on the Panorama Trail from Glacier Point.

Nevada Fall

Behind Curry Village an ephemeral called Staircase Falls appears as if by magic when it rains, and disappears when the weather is fine again.

Staircase Falls

A short walk from the Ahwahnee Hotel you will find another ephemeral when the snow is melting in the spring. Royal Arch Cascade owns the vertical granite wall, combining soft water and hard rock, temporary flow and permanent feature in a thundering visual display of nature’s artistry.

Royal Arch Cascade

As is true of any National Park, no return visit is a repeat of a previous one, so if you haven’t been to Yosemite recently, go back. We plan to take a day trip today to try to see “nature’s firefall,” an ephemeral on El Capitan called Horsetail Fall as it catches the sunset’s fire and pours it into the valley. If you’ve never visited Yosemite National Park, isn’t it time?

[Update: February 19, 2013. A late-developing, thin cloud cover was enough to douse "nature's firefall" last evening, so it was a non-event. But the Park was lovely, enveloped in a chilly and quiet winter day.]

Grove of autumn branches. Photo of bare branches in late autumn against pines near Mirror Lake, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California.

© Harry Hull III and Mandalagraphs.com, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of photographs and other material on this blog/website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Harry Hull III and Mandalagraphs.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Amazing geology, carved by the ancient hand of inching glaciers.

Stunning giant sequoia in the Mariposa Grove.

The beautiful little mohawked squawky Stellar’s jay.

More stunning glacier-carved terrain.

Dippin my feet in the icy snow-fed Merced River

Bald eagle!!

Looking westward in a lovely little ponderosa pine wood.

My lil yellow-bellied marmot buddy =)

Mountain water crashing down from the valley rim makes for great scenery and photographs at any time of the year.  In winter, however, family portraits can take on a very grim perspective as families huddle to keep warm in the biting cold.  Too often we stand in the freezing wet wind waiting, waiting and waiting in terminal stature for the camera’s shutter to deploy and so release us to quickly perambulate, with chilled limbs and extremities, to “somewhere else”.  Yes, family portraits with the winter falls as a backdrop “sometimes” don’t make the final cut for favorite memories.

In 1890 John Muir wrote (in his flowery prose) a fascinating essay on The Treasures of the Yosemite.  He describes the many spectacular characteristics Yosemite Falls and discusses, perhaps, one of the stranger winter phenomena:  the snow cone.

In winter the water falling hundreds of feet (& meters) to the valley floor generates a huge amount of spray that might be slightly warmer than freezing.  In this atmosphere the spray becomes a heavy frozen coating to everything around.  The ice slowly builds up at the base of the falls as one enormous and unstable “cone” while the water continues to pour itself into the core of this frozen fixture.  As the winter sun penetrates the cold, blocks of ice crash down from the walls surrounding the falls both building and changing the form of the snow cone.  Muir was certainly a maniac; after reporting the “thundering, reverberating reports of the falling ice-masses are like those of heavy cannon” he was drawn to this winter cascade and decided to climb the snow cone to “get a view of the interior”.  I have to admire the maniacal nature of stubbornly climbing an unstable mass of ice conglomerate in a dense mist of penetrating freezing water.  As you can read, even this climb was too much for Muir:  he retreated from this epic, ending up drenched laying on some sunny rock to warm.  I shake my head with respect and admiration:  truly a maniac.

Yosemite Falls with the snow cone developing from the base of the lower falls.

Today – January – the snow cone is building at the base of the falls and while, perhaps, modern conveniences have blanched the true splendor of this phenomenon, it is still something to behold.  So go get out your axe, go cut some steps and go squint inside !

a good nights sleep under a full sky drifted away slowly like a canoe on a lazy river as morning broke crisp and clear. i lay there wondering how different the valley would look from the floor as opposed to our previous evenings perch on glacier point.

originally we planned on spending the whole day hiking the valley and checking out the various waterfalls, but our timetable didnt work out quite as we hoped. when we awoke we decided to leave our reserved camping spot outside the park in order to try and find a better spot near the valley where we wanted to spend our day.

the road into and through the park is a winding maze to traverse and it took time. as we neared the valley we had mapped out a couple of possible campsites and headed to the nearest one. tamarack flat was a couple miles off the main road down and bumpy dirt path in a nest of trees next to a stream and meadow that was just pristine. unfortunately we drove around almost an hour before realizing it was full.

more time wasted.

we headed further northeast and pulled into white wolf, a larger campground right off the park road. this one seemed full too but after a brief discussion with the camp hosts it appeared there were a couple of openings, so we spent another hour driving, finding and setting up camp. it was further from the valley than we hoped and we had blown almost half the day finding it.

by the time we downed lunch and made it back to the valley it was mid-afternoon. i was extremely frustrated at having wasted so much time. but it occurred to me that this was a recurring theme in my life. i am constantly finding reasons to be discontent where i am and always wanting to look somewhere else for something better.

most recently i had made such a decision that uprooted my family for the second time in 2 years and moved us away from alpine, texas in hopes of something better in the dallas/fort worth area where we had been previously. it only took me a few months to seriously regret that decision, and yet here i was on the great adventure making the same kind of mistake.

which is pretty much how my whole life has unfolded. beauty all around me and i miss a lot of it because im unhappy where i am. i guess being discontent leads to even greater discontentment.

im not entirely sure what it is that churns inside me in such a way but i know it has cost me peace in multiple situations over the course of my life. i secretly like to think of myself as possessing patience and wisdom but time and again i prove that to be a delusion. if we had stayed at our campsite in the sierra national forest we would have been able to enjoy the absolutely mesmerizing beauty of yosemite national park for many more hours than we did. we would have had plenty of time to see nevada falls and vernal falls. we could have hiked to the base of half dome.

instead we drove around in a car.

trying not to kill bears.

as far as sucking the marrow of life i was failing miserably and as i reflected on this i was reminded of ecclesiastes 2:11

Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

my inability to be at peace in one of the most gorgeous locations in the world was a giant flashing red indicator of just how broken i am. i have spent immeasurable amounts of time and energy chasing after the wind. and once again god spoke to me. not in the same way as on the beach near santa barbara, but still clearly enough that i understood.

be still…

(and know that i am god)

of course i didnt stop to think about it at the time. i pushed right past it while trying to get in all the sights. because being still isnt something im very good at even if i like to think i am. even if god speaks to me and tries to get my attention while im on a journey to find and hear from him.

our first stop in the valley was to hike bridal veil falls which is like walking into the past. there were people around but the forest on either side of the trail seemed primitive. giant hunks of stone jutted out of mossy earth and stones the size of small cars huddled together near the stream at the base of the falls that feeds into the merced river. bridal veil earned its name as the wind whipped the water from the precipice into a cascade that flashed across the rock and gave birth to a mist that hovered around the base creating its own little weather system.

after taking a slew of pictures i stood there for a moment and was still as the mist freckled my face and shoulders. but it was only a moment as we were still in a rush to move on, trying to see as much as we could squeeze in before darkness came, which is certainly not the best way to experience a place like yosemite.

after bridal veil we drove over to the main lodge area and checked out the ansel adams store and the visitors center. i found out more about how glaciers carved this valley and how long it took them to do so, reinforcing my desire to be able to slow down and take it all in. but with daylight waning we hurried out and headed toward yosemite falls which was already shadowed as the late afternoon sun drifted slowly toward the elevated horizon of the enclosed valley.

we took a few pics and decided to head out into the meadow at the base of el capitan.

the sun was bright as we looked east toward half dome..

and yet was already beginning to set as we looked west toward turtle back dome..

in the fading light we paused in the meadow beneath el capitan..

and there as the light continued to relent i put my camera down and rested against a felled tree. slowly looking around, listening to the mixture of sounds ebbing with the wind i heard it again

be still…

(and know that i am god)

and i was still. and i knew god was. and i felt peace. the shalom that has come so rarely for me in this world always comes when i cease striving. so i ceased. i lost track of time and it seemed to have lost track of me. the wind murmured. the clouds passed. the stream giggled. the birds sang. and i was in the presence..

as dusk won the day we headed back to camp. i set about gathering firewood while jase and bryan tended to supper. there at the end of the day i felt refreshed and gathering wood seemed like a chore i would welcome every day if i could always do it in such a place. we lit a fire and devoured our food, toasting gods majesty and our enduring friendship at the close of yet another extraordinary day.

our experiences on day 8 marked a turn in my approach to the remainder of the trip. i knew there would still be days when we didnt have as much time as we wanted but i resolved to slow down as much as possible and enjoy these moments to the fullest. no more missing out on the wonder around me due to my discontent. i was going to carpe every diem from here on out.

i wanted to live deliberately…and not, when i came to die, discover that i had not lived.

Patagonia has graciously supported my expedition with their superior clothing.  I have been a huge fan of Patagonia for decades.  Wearing their items will serve as a constant  reminder of Patagonia’s commitment to environmental issues and minimizing ecological impact.  Plus, they will keep me warm in the cold Montana springtime!

I have personally been in love with Patagonia and their clothing since the late 1970′s when I lived in Yosemite Valley, the Golden Years of Yosemite climbing.  The five years spent living in the Valley and playing in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (eleven altogether) were among the funnest years of my life.

Ryan Alonzo Photo

Patagonia first made an indelible impression on me when I had the privilege to sit at dinner in the Mountain Room Bar with Yvon Chouinard and Rick Ridgeway while tagging along with  my climber boyfriend at the time, Dale Bard.  As you might imagine, Yvon Chouinard was bigger than the very walls that surrounded the Valley.  While an icon in the Yosemite climbing scene, I remember he struck me as being an astonishingly humble and endearing soul.  That is all I remember from that night, nothing about the conversation (undoubtedly, about climbing), what I ate, or who else was there.  I was awestruck.  And, Patagonia has earned my deepest respect ever since.  The quality of their product is unsurpassed.

I love Patagonia for the quality of their clothing, the environmental heart of their business, and the ecological consciousness about which they continue to teach the world.  You can read about Patagonia’s history here.  I’ve included an excerpt from their history that underscores their being:

In 1988, we initiated our first national environmental campaign on behalf of an alternative master plan to deurbanize the Yosemite Valley. Each year since, we have undertaken a major education campaign on an environmental issue. We took an early position against globalization of trade where it means compromise of environmental and labor standards. We have argued for dam removal where silting, marginally useful dams compromise fish life. We have supported wildlands projects that seek to preserve ecosystems whole and create corridors for wildlife to roam. We hold, every eighteen months, a “Tools for Activists” conference to teach marketing and publicity skills to some of the groups we work with.

We also, early on, began initial steps to reduce our own role as a corporate polluter: we have been using recycled-content paper for our catalogs since the mid-eighties. We worked with Malden Mills to develop recycled polyester for use in our Synchilla fleece.

Our distribution center in Reno, opened in 1996, achieved a 60% reduction in energy use through solar-tracking skylights and radiant heating; we used recycled content for everything from rebar to carpet to the partitions between urinals. We retrofitted lighting systems in existing stores, and build-outs for new stores became increasingly environmentally friendly. We assessed the dyes we used and eliminated colors from the line that required the use of toxic metals and sulfides. Most importantly, since the early nineties, we have made environmental responsibility a key element of everyone’s job.

 During the past thirty years, we’ve made many mistakes but we’ve never lost our way for very long. Although we first intended Patagonia as a way to free ourselves from the limitations of the original climbing business, precisely those limitations have kept us on our toes and helped us thrive. We still pursue climbing and surfing, activities that entail risk, require soul, and invite reflection. We favor informal travels with friends – doing what we love to do – to the camera-covered event. We can’t bring ourselves to knowingly make a mediocre product. And we cannot avert our eyes from the harm done, by all of us, to our one and only home.

Here are a few pictures from the Golden Years that I thought I’d share.  It was a high time for rock climbing with numerous first-ascent big-wall routes going up all over the valley.  Life was simple and really really fun.

Dale Bard – Iron Hawk with Ron Kauk (1978)

Ron Kauk on Iron Hawk (1978)

Iron Hawk – First ascent by Dale Bard and Ron Kauk (1978)

Dale Bard – Iron Hawk

1978-Sea of Dreams team (facing this way L-R) Dale Bard, Dave Diegelman, Jim Bridwell and supporters (R-L) Ron Kauk, K.B., and me on the rail at my cabin across the street from Camp 4.

Jim Bridwell’s Birthday Party (1978-ish) L-R, Mark Chapman’s brother Phil, Kim Schmitz, Dale Bard, me, John Long (Largo), (don’ know the girl)

The Captain! Spent MANY hours in El Capitan Meadow watching the climbers.

Finally, if you have an hour or so, check out the movie 180 degrees South.  The movie is a great way to get to know a little bit about the heart of this man, Yvon Chouinard, as well as the heartbeat of adventure seeking.  At least, that’s how I remember it.  Time to give it another look, for sure!

Thank you, Patagonia, for your generous donation.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

The following photos are in Mariposa Grove 10minutes ride from WAWONA hotel, and about an hour drive from Yosemite Valley. Every time I traveled I always do my research about the location, the things to do, and etcetera!

The Beautiful park of the Mariposa Grove is a big relaxing moment for me. Walking, sightseeing of the beautiful different varieties of birds, the wild deers, the squirrels, and most of all the stunning, amazing gorgeous trees.♥♥♥

Have fun and learn the history.:)

Mariposa Tree, and me the smallest living one:)

First adventure? Riding this open Tram exploring around the road for just a few $ ticket.

A TRAM to ride around Mariposa Grove. If you want you can walk too. But I recommend to ride this first, have fun, and relax. You can listen the history in different languages through a headset for you to learn the history of the decades and decades gae of the Trees, specially on how they exist.:)

A Centuries old TREEs at Mariposa Groove CA.

It said that Trees like this age till 7,000 year old or more if we human took good care of them, and helping them survive. Most of the Trees in Mariposa Grove are already there during Dinosaurs time, some are already there standing during the World War 2 and witness everything from agony to laughter. They are older than you, older than what you think! Isn’t that amazing how people comes in and our existence disappeared in this world,  but this giant trees still exist, standing alive and still kicking watching our next generation?

A Tree from history to history.:)

The Telescop Tree

Telescope Tree

And yeah that’s me over there, and as you see I’m taller than the Telescop Tree lol:)

The Fallen Tunnel Tree. I can recalled during the Tram ride. The story of the Fallen Tree was very interesting. There was a 2 brothers who was paid for 75$ to put a body hole like a Tunnel by curving it so the small vehicles, or horses can go through on it. After years and years the Fallen Tunnel Tree fell down from different reasons lightning, storms and age.:)

What you think? 

The Bachelor and 3 Graces.:)

The Giant Tree that Taller than the 

And that’s explained all:)

The Stable horseTree.:)

The Stable Tree where the Horses can rest specially when it rains.:)

Was the 1st time I saw this Tree, and I’m itching to see it since then. Because the  OAK tree is the most popular, and one of the best wood for building wood furnitures. 

The OAK TREE’s are endangered already. The park is pretty much on keeping them alive, preserving them, and protecting them from OAK hunters for their personal use.

This is about 10-15yrs old of Sequoia little tree, and in more century this little one become one of those GIANT’s TREE.:)

My FAITHFUL COUPLE:) Have you seen like this? same root, same body, but at the top 2 faces loving each other?

My Favorite Tree:)

Leave the Pine Cone alone for them to breathe and for their chance to become a giant Sequoia in the future generation.:)

The Wild wonders Deer’s at Mariposa Grove:)

Have a wonderful trip ahead guys, hope to hear you soon,

Yen-Yen

More related articles please click the following link,

1. Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Wood
2. http://www.dsnyfamily.com/2010/10/03/septembers-top-stories-trees-cuts-and-the-ladies/

In the landscape profession we manipulate nature to create our own little havens, but nothing is more breathtaking than wild nature.  I just returned from a winter wonderland in Yosemite Valley and I am always amazed at the beauty that is around each turn. In wintertime, after the New Year, Yosemite Valley is quiet and peaceful. The fallen tree branches and yellow meadow are cloaked in a crisp white icing of snow. You begin to appreciate the shapes and forms of boulders, delicate tree branches, and the lacy patchwork of snowflakes sealed onto car windows. The waterfalls were flowing, creating a cobweb of frozen doilies framing the base of each fall. The show-stopping dogwoods(Cornus nuttallii) that are in full bloom in spring were mere skeletons, asleep for the winter. Instead, the boulders dotting each side of the Merced River, covered with a cap of pure white snow stole the show as the water flowed around the base of each one, revealing the dark granite beneath.

Lower Yosemite Falls

Delicate tree icicles

I am always inspired by the beauty here. It reminds me of the importance of established trees, the grand affect large canopies create for the scale of what is beneath and above. It takes years for them to grow large enough to create impact in a garden and provide a sense of scale to the house and the rest of the landscape. This trip also reminded me of the beauty of a simple element. It is easy to add too much. If there is a beautiful water element in your garden, let it have space. Create continuity with plant material in large swaths throughout the garden to highlight a focal point and add a sense of calm. Mother Nature has lessons to teach us all as we think about our own landscapes.

The Ahwahnee Hotel dining room is at a grand scale, mimicking the feeling you have standing in Yosemite Valley amidst the towering mountains

Ice skating under Half Dome at sunset

]]> http://naturalhistorywanderings.com/2013/01/10/new-yosemite-valley-plan/ Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:22:28 +0000 Sandy Steinman http://naturalhistorywanderings.com/2013/01/10/new-yosemite-valley-plan/ Yosemite National Park has a new proposed management plan for Yosemite Valley and the Merced River. This is the park service’s third attempt to develop an acceptable management plan. The two previous efforts were rejected by courts as environmental groups sued the park service for inadequate environmental protections. Some of the highlights of the new plan are:

• 600 day-use parking spaces would be added
•  the number of campsites would increase by about 35 percent
•  203 acres along the river would be restored
•  the 90-year-old Sugar Pine Bridge across the Merced would be removed to help restore the river’s natural flow patterns.
• no new construction would be allowed within 150 feet of the Merced River
• informal trails in the meadow would be removed
• Trails and boardwalks at Bridalveil Fall would be redesigned.
• Vulnerable areas would be closed to visitors
• pedestrian underpass would be built to ease traffic on a busy road near Yosemite Lodge.
• the ice skating rink at Curry Village, commercial horseback riding, hotel swimming pools and raft and bicycle rentals would be eliminated

Read more at:

Yosemite plan calls for more campsites and parking spaces – latimes.com.

Big Changes Proposed for Yosemite Valley | National Park | SoCal Wanderer | KCET.

Sometimes when something good or not so good happens and we’re in it with both feet, its difficult have a clear perspective.  Its only when time passes can we get a clearer picture of what occurred to reflect on the teachings and what we’ve learned.

I strive to see myself as co-creator of my life vs. life just happening.  I have choices.  Choices on the way I see situations, people, events, and my life.  I can concentrate on the negative around me, OR I can see the good around me.  Its all a choice.  Sometimes I think that is the first place we all need to begin with on our personal growth journey.  Lets all embrace our courage and strength and know within we are powerful co-creators of our lives and make 2013 the most fabulous year yet!

Yosemite in December

My husband and I took a trip to visit my Mom a few days after Christmas.  We decided it would be great to take one day to visit Yosemite this time of year, thinking it would be fairly empty…WRONG!

Unfortunately because it was so busy and people were driving in the snow like there wasn’t snow on the ground we only stayed a few hours and returned back to my Mom’s.  Nonetheless Yosemite is always spectacular.  I’ve never been when there was that much snow on the ground, so this was a unique experience for both of us, unfortunately it was too stressful.  When out in nature we seek the solitude; that is our church.

As far as the images I captured, I’ll have to let them sit and come back to them for a fresher perspective.  Here is one shot I worked with.  I love the sun peeking through the trees.

Some spots the temperature dipped down to the mid 20′s! That’s cold for us people in California.

“I ask to be made beautiful like the trees are beautiful, each growing according to a unique plan. Lop off a limb and and the tree will accommodate it’s loss, still growing and still beautiful. It is my hope to be able to flourish in a similar fashion, taking on the shape and dimensions that is intended for me.” – Julia Cameron, The Writing Diet

Mixed Media Creation

Created this a month or so ago.  I was thinking of how much some of us (including me) hold ourselves back from sharing ourselves with our loved ones or with the World.

“Live your life from your heart.  Share from your heart.  And your story will touch and heal people’s souls”. – Melody Beattie

Wishing you all Peace, Love and Harmony in the new Year!

Nina