Hinkey Summit Arch, Nevada, looking down through the arch

 

This is a natural arch in Nevada that you're looking down through to the road below. This is Hinkey Summit. We were able to follow a short side road off of the main dirt road in order to get above the opening. Rick drove from the main road up the side road while Bob hiked up to the arch from the main road and met Rick after scrambling through the opening.

Here's Bob standing at the base of the arch looking up through it. Later on, he scrambled up through the opening and met Rick on the upper side.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

A female Great tailed Grackle at Boulder Beach Campground, Lake Mead National Recreation Area

 

Bob was on a trip through the southwestern desert when he stayed at the Boulder Beach Campground of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada.  Every morning and evening the great tailed grackles would fly through the campground foraging or looking for a place to roost or whatever.  They are very noisy, boisterous birds with a variety of calls.  He eventually managed to photograph this female as it perched on a creosote bush branch.

This was shot with a 400mm zoom lens and then heavily cropped to bring out the details of this bird.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

A small waterfall and natural bridge in the Tuolumne River, Yosemite National Park, California

 This is the Tuolumne River near the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge and is along the John Muir Trail.  This feature is called the Green Pool.  The river flows over this small waterfall and into a pool that is some 8 to 10 feet deep at its deepest.  The granite arm along the right edge of the photo actually forms a natural bridge.  Notice the rocky streambed and the opening in this granite arm in the lower left of center in the second photo.  This is the third natural rock span that we know of in Yosemite National Park.  We've posted photos of those other rock spans earlier in our photo gallery.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Aspen trees changing to their Fall wardrobe in Hope Valley, California

 

A bit of fall color in Hope Valley, California.  These are the changing leaves of aspen trees near the junction of Highways 88 and 89 south of Lake Tahoe.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, chunks of calcium carbonate sticking out

 Mammoth Hot Springs is sometimes called a mountain turning itself inside out. Hot water deep underground dissolves calcium where it combines with carbon dioxide to make calcium carbonate. Once that solution comes to the surface, the water evaporates and the remaining water cools, resulting in the mineral being deposited into flowing shapes. Calcium carbonate is also the mineral that cave features like stalagmites and stalactites are made of and the white powdery substance you can see in your kitchen sink.

In this photo, you can see some of the flowing shapes have broken off and are lying across the terraces at odd angles. One of the chunks at the upper left appears to be almost completely upside down, with "fingers" of calcium carbonate sticking up. The colors in the white calcium carbonate come from bacteria and algae growing in the warm water. A reddish tinge can also be a sign that iron is mixed in. We were on a boardwalk that leads down from the top of a hill to get in position for this shot. f/8, 1/800 sec, 55 mm, Canon Powershot SX530 HS.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Illilouette Fall as seen from Sierra Point in Yosemite National Park

 

This is a view of Illilouette Fall from the Sierra Point viewpoint in Yosemite National Park.  See our YouTube video about Sierra Point and how to get there.  You can also get a similar view of this waterfall from the Mist Trail hiking from the Happy Isles Nature Center to Vernal Falls.

The canyon that this waterfall falls into runs roughly south to north and is a relatively short boulder-strewn gorge before Illilouette Creek flows into the Merced River after that river flows over Nevada and Vernal Falls.  This photo was taken in June 2016 when snowmelt had swollen the creek's flow.

Remember, it's a story, not just a picture.

"Corridor of Color" Fall Colors in Hope Valley, Alpine County, California

Fall colors are starting in Hope Valley in Alpine County, California, south of Lake Tahoe.  This "corridor of color" is along Highway 88 near the Wylder (Sorenson's) Resort.

The fall colors in Hope Valley are from aspen trees and cottonwoods losing chlorophyll and allowing xanthophylls and other pigments to show through as the temperature drops and the sun's intensity and day length diminish as the Autumn season progresses.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Water ouzel (dipper) in Silver Creek, Alpine County, California

 

Over the Labor Day weekend, we went to Alpine County, California, an area where Rick worked in the Toiyabe National Forest on the trail crew. There was a fire south of us in Slinkard Valley, so we couldn't stay overnight, but we did get a chance to look at the east fork Carson River where Silver Creek joins it. We found this water ouzel (dipper) bird that lives along river rapids and eats insects that live in the rapids. I happened to catch this image of the bird with an insect in its mouth. This species of bird walks around in the rapids with no apparent concern for its safety. It can even dip underwater when looking for its food and walk on the river bottom. We've even seen these birds dipping into the Merced River in Yosemite, during the winter. It doesn't get cold because it has so much oil in its feathers, it doesn't get wet. 

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Upper end of Yosemite Valley from the Four Mile Trail, July 22, 2020

 

Here's a photo taken in Yosemite National Park showing Tenaya Canyon to the left and the Merced River Canyon to the right with Half Dome in the center. On the right, you can see Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall. Rick took this photo from the Four Mile Trail during what he calls his "Overnight Day Trip." He was able to get to Yosemite from Fresno by taking the YARTS bus. He didn't have the chance to get a day-use permit or an overnight permit, but you can still get into Yosemite if you arrive on the YARTS bus. The Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point is actually about 4 and a half miles long. The view opens up to the east after 3 to 4 miles up what is a relentlessly uphill climb. This was Rick's first time on this trail despite all the times he's been to Yosemite over the years (more than 180 visits). He expects to hike this trail again soon. He accidentally got his shadow in the picture at the lower right. It was after 6 pm and the sun was getting low enough in the sky to make that happen.

This image is the result of two images being merged together. Each image was taken with a Motorola z4 smartphone, merged, and then processed for brightness and contrast in Digikam on a Linux computer. 

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Comet NEOWISE over Old Sacramento, California

It might be hard to make out in the first photo, but Comet NEOWISE is in the right upper center of this image between the building and the flag pole on the bow of the riverboat. This image is from Old Sacramento State Historic Park in Sacramento, California. The riverboat in the foreground is the Delta King, which acts as a floating hotel and is permanently moored at its dock. The building in this image is on the other side of the Sacramento River in West Sacramento.

Bob took these photos on the evening of July 17, 2020.  In the first photo the lights on the riverboat were so bright that it produced a sharp contrast with the night sky where the comet was.  To reduce the contrast he used a graduated neutral density filter to tone down the riverboat lights.

The second photo is a zoom-in showing the comet and its position relative to the building in the first photo.

Comet NeEOWISE and the Big Dipper over Yosemite Valley

Here's a photo showing a slowly fading Comet NEOWISE C/2020 f3 below the Big Dipper. I was in Yosemite on the south rim next to Sentinel Creek with a clear view of the sky. I was hoping to get a view of the comet floating above El Capitan, but the moon was just past new and was setting so there was no light for the landscape. So I turned my attention to getting pictures of the comet with the Big Dipper so it would have recognizable stars around it. It's above two stars in the constellation Leo Minor. It's closest to the earth on this night, but farther from the sun so it's not as brighter as before.

ISO 6400, 30-second exposure, f4, focal length 20mm. This image was cropped to high light the constellation and comet below. 

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Comet NEOWISE over Sacramento, California

These photos are of Comet NEOWISE, aka C/2020 F3, taken at about 4:39 AM Sacramento time on July 12, 2020. I, Bob, had driven to the west end of the Yolo Bypass, which is between the cities of West Sacramento and Davis, California. I was looking northeasterly when I took this shot.  Other photographers were out in these predawn hours to get photos of it, like I was. The horizon is the Sierra foothills.

At this point Comet NEOWISE is on the outbound part of its orbit after already whipping past the sun. The tails of comets are created by and directed by solar radiation, which means they always point away from the sun. The sun is below the horizon in this view and the tail is pointing away from it.

While I was getting shots of the comet, a freight train passed by me on the nearby tracks.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Great Fountain Geyser and forest fire smoke, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

This is a photo of the Great Fountain Geyser along the Firehole Lake Drive in Yellowstone National Park. This was taken on August 15, 2016 while a forest fire was raging on the horizon.  The smoke extends from the setting sun to the upper right corner.

Great Fountain Geyser is one of the geysers that the rangers can predict when it will erupt, but the window of time that it might erupt is plus or minus two hours. When it's building toward an eruption, the vent and surrounding terraces will fill with water to overflowing and the column of water will shoot up out of the pooling water, as opposed to geysers like Old Faithful Geyser that erupt out of a cone.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Female common mergansers resting on a log, American River Parkway, Sacramento, California

We were out paddling around the American River Parkway in Sacramento, California when we encountered these female common mergansers resting on this log that had fallen across this channel.  This is just downstream from the Watt Avenue Bridge.

The merganser in the middle had its mouth open, while the merganser on the right was giving us the eye while trying to get some sleep.  Mergansers are also known as fish ducks, since they feed on small fish by diving underwater and swimming after their prey.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Grotto Geyser erupting, Yellowstone National Park

Grotto Geyser always makes me think of a sea turtle.  If you imagine the rounded feature in the middle as the turtle's head, then the other two rounded features on either side look like flippers. Grotto Geyser is in the Upper Geyser Basin, which includes Old Faithful Geyser, in Yellowstone National Park.

Grotto may actually be a unique example of natural arch formation.  Scientists believe that the two "flippers" may have been formed by geyser mineral deposits over tree trunks which created two arches, since each flipper is an arc of rock over openings.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Half Dome at sunset with a bright moon in front of its face

Here's a full moon rising next to Half Dome, Yosemite National Park. I, Rick, was actually leaving Yosemite after a day visit and decided to stop at the Tunnel View for one last look at the valley. Some people off to the left were pointing somewhat excitedly, but I couldn't figure out why, at first. Then I saw the moon rising, so I rushed to a spot where I could get the best angle. The red light of the setting sun contrasted well with the bright moon.

I did some adjusting of brightness and contrast and worked specifically on the area within the moon to bring out the details, but nothing was repositioned or added to the image.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Delicate Arch and a sandstone amphitheater, Arches National Park, Utah

Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, Utah sits on the rim of an amphitheater.  This panoramic shot shows that amphitheater plus Delicate Arch.  This arch is at the end of a trail that makes for a 3 mile round trip hike and gains 480 feet from the trailhead to the arch.

Delicate Arch is the symbol of Arches National Park and is such an iconic symbol of Utah that it appears on many of the state's vehicle license plates.

We visited Delicate Arch during a spring break in 2017 and hiked almost all the way around the rim of this amphitheater to get this shot.  This panorama is a combination of 18 bracketed images.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Yosemite Falls with a moonbow in the lower fall, Yosemite Nat'l Park

This image of Yosemite Falls, with the upper and lower fall visible, is lit up by moonlight. You can see stars in the sky above the falls. The rainbow in the mist of the lower falls is caused by moonlight, not sunlight. When we viewed this scene with our own eyes, we couldn't see the colors, but the camera picks them through a long exposure of 30 seconds, ISO 800. We were just at the falls getting moonbow pictures in the lower fall, but as we were leaving, we decided to look back at the whole waterfall and see if the moonbow was visible from this other perspective.

This natural event can happen 2-3 days around the full moon in the spring and early summer in Yosemite Valley, especially when there's enough water flow.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Half Dome from the Merced River After Passing Under Sentinel Bridge

I, Rick, used to have an inflatable kayak. In January 1997, Yosemite experienced record flooding. People were trapped inside the valley due to the floodwater. A few months later, in May, I took my inflatable kayak on the shuttle bus and traveled as far upstream as the bus would take me, Happy Isles. Then I carried my kayak to the shore of the Merced River and inflated it. I shoved off and traveled downstream to view some of the damage caused by the flooding, including picnic tables in the middle of the river. Along the way, I passed under Sentinel Bridge and looked back at Half Dome. A lot of people like to get a picture of Half Dome from the bridge, but here I had the opportunity to include the bridge in the picture. That was the first and so far only time I've paddled on the Merced River. Must do that again soon.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Half Dome approach from the east

Here's Bob posing at the western end of the Sub Dome before we start on our way up to the top of Half Dome. You can see the famous cables going up the eastern side of Half Dome that give people a secure way to make it to the top. From this side of Half Dome, you can clearly see the way that granite erodes. The process is called exfoliation, which means that granite slabs flake off and eventually fall down the cliff.

Bob and I backpacked into the Little Yosemite Valley the day before, then finished the trip to the top on this day. Before hiking to the top of Half Dome, you have to climb to the top of the Sub Dome, which is very steep and a little scary. Then you drop down a little bit to a notch between the two domes. That's the spot behind Bob, where a couple of people are walking. Farther along, you reach the base of the cables. Sometimes, the Park Service leaves a basket full of gloves for hikers to use if they didn't bring their own. You can see people about half way up to the top, using the cables to make the ascent.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California

I, Bob, was looking through a folder of photos from a trip to Death Valley in January 2009 when I came upon this image.  The longer I looked at it, the more intrigued I became with the texture of it.  I was on the top of the tallest sand dune in the Mesquite Flat Sand Dune near Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley National Park, California when I took this photo.  I was looking down into a valley of sorts between the dune crests.  The foot tracks along the top edge give you a sense of scale.

I took this photo with the still function of a Sony high def Handycam, so it's not a high resolution image and will probably not look good if it's enlarged very much.

Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River, Yellowstone National Park

A view from the brink of the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park.  After viewing a major eruption of Steamboat Geyser in late July 2019, we enjoyed the rest of the sights in Yellowstone, including a hike to this brink.  The height of this waterfall is 109 feet and it always seems to kick up a lot of mist.  After falling over this brink the Yellowstone River takes a leftward turn toward the even-higher Lower Falls.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

McWay Fall, Big Sur, California, nearing sunset

In the Big Sur area on the coast of California is a state park name after Julia Pfeiffer Burns. Part of the park includes this waterfall that drops directly onto the beach. This waterfall is called McWay Fall. It is 80 feet (24m) tall and used to drop directly into the ocean. Mudslides and rockfall after the very wet year of 1983 caused a sandy beach to build up where there was none before. Now the water falls onto the beach, except during high tide. There is no trail to the beach, access is only by boat, due to the crumbly, unstable slopes.

There's also a sea arch in the sandy cove beyond the fall in this picture. We were able to see it during a visit in 2004, but the trail is partly closed now and moving beyond a barrier is not allowed.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Yosemite Falls on a sunny day in February, 2020

Here's Yosemite Falls on a sunny day in February, 2020. The winter season is shaping up to be another dry one, unfortunately. Yosemite Falls can be viewed from Cooks Meadow. The spot I, Rick,  chose in the meadow allows for a clear view of the upper and lower falls. The trees at the bottom block your view of the water except at this spot. There's a little used climb to the top of the lower falls along the level ledge with some trees to the right of the lower falls. As I was setting up for this shot, I saw some one or a small group of people moving at the left edge of that ledge. It made me feel like trying it myself sometime. Also, Alex Honnold was on that ledge during the "Free Solo" movie.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

The Yosemite firefall effect with a dry Horsetail Falls, February 23, 2020

The 2020 Yosemite firefall as seen from the El Capitan Picnic Area in Yosemite Valley.  After a very wet and snowy winter last winter, the 2019 to 2020 winter has turned very dry.  Horsetail Falls had no water in it, but the sun still put its slit of reddish setting sun light on the spot where it would've been.  This photo is from February 23rd 2020.  Clouds on the western horizon toyed with us off and on blocking and then unblocking the setting sun's light, but ultimately obscured the sun when the peak of redness should have happened.

This photo was about the best we got of the setting sun's light on the eastern flank of El Capitan.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Climbing a Simple Route in Yosemite, plus bobcats

This photo was taken at the end of a climbing session in Yosemite. We were climbing this simple route up to the tree at the top of the picture. We took turns belaying each other. Rick took a photo of Bob from the top of the route. Lots of beginner climbing classes come to this area to get people started. This is also along the trail between Camp 4 and Yosemite Falls.

While here we also had a family of bobcats walk past us. It consisted of a mother and 2 kittens. One of the kittens was lingering behind, so we didn't get a very good picture with all three together.

 

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Beauty Pool, in Yellowstone, sure is a beauty

Beauty Pool, in Yellowstone's Upper Geyser Basin, reflects the sky in this wide angle image taken July 31, 2019. You can get to it by starting out from the the Old Faithful area and hiking along the boardwalk on the east side of the Firehole River. It's just north of Grand Geyser, another feature worth watching. Beauty Pool is connected to the nearby feature called Chromatic Spring. When one of these features has their water rise and overflow, the water level in the other decreases. This back-and-forth between the two can take weeks or even years.

We were lucky to have no wind despite the cloudy conditions, so the reflection of the clouds turned out as we hoped. To fit the whole pool in the image, we used a wide-angle lens on a smartphone. It's capable of capturing images of 180º and 360º. This image was captured with 180º setting and edited for levels, local contrast, and sharpened.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Cave Falls from downstream, southeastern corner of Yellowstone National Park

We finally visited the harder-to-get-to southeastern corner of Yellowstone National Park known as the Bechler Region in August 2019.  Because of the many waterfalls and cascades in this corner of Yellowstone, it's also called Cascade Corner.

The highlight for us was visiting Cave Falls along the Fall River.  We posted an image earlier of the view of Cave Falls from the brink.  This view is from downstream.  The boulders on the left margin just below the falls are from the collapse of the alcove that gave Cave Falls its name.  So, these falls got its name from an alcove and not a true cave.  The characteristic that distinguishes this waterfall is that they are the widest waterfall of all of Yellowstone's many waterfalls at 250 feet across.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Robinson Twins Exploring Millerton Cave

In these two combined images, Rick and Bob are exploring Millerton Cave, located in eastern Fresno County, California. It's perhaps one of the best examples of a talus cave (also called corrasional cave) in the world. Rick is in the left image hoping to locate a small waterfall inside the cave. Bob is in the right image recording video of the inside of the cave while Rick provides the lighting. We've been to this cave several times but have yet to explore all of it. It's estimated to be 1/2 mile (.8 km) in length. It's located on public land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management called the San Joaquin River Gorge. It's also upstream of the Millerton Lake State Park. For those exploring it, there are some bolts already drilled into the granite at some of the natural entrances.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Upper Yosemite Falls from the trail

In Yosemite National Park, you can see the tallest waterfall in America. Yosemite Falls, has an upper section, a middle cascading section, then a lower fall. There's a trail that leads to the top of the falls so you can look down on the entire falls behind a guard rail. This image was taken from along that trail showing just the upper falls. We've been to the top of the falls and have posted a video about that day trip to our YouTube channel, Robinson Twins Natural Adventures.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!