Mount Rainier Enshrouded in Clouds

This is Mount Rainier showing the effect of high mountains creating their own weather. We saw a long line of people heading to the top of the mountain despite the clouds. Without the clouds, though, this would've been a completely sunny day. Mount Rainier is a volcano and the highest mountain in Washington state. It is considered a premier destination for mountaineers all around the world.

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

Half Dome by half moonlight on a snowy February night

We visited Yosemite Valley to try to capture the "firefall" effect of Horsetail Falls at sunset in mid-February 2019 (pictures of that will be forthcoming).  Afterwards, Bob cross-country skied a lap around Ahwahnee Meadow and noticed that the half moon was lighting up Half Dome in a way that brought it out, while not washing out the stars above it.  He got his tripod and camera and shot these long exposure shots from a corner of the meadow.

While Bob was taking the first photo, the Valley Shuttle bus approached while the shutter was open.  The second photo was without a vehicle approaching.

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

Half Dome view in the winter, before and after

We skied out on the Glacier Point Road in Yosemite to look down on Yosemite Valley during the winter. Clouds moved across the sky and obscured our view. We stopped at the Washburn Point turnout and saw a cloud bank. Rick thought it made an interesting image of Bob's silhouette against the gray clouds. A few seconds later, the clouds separated enough to see Half Dome in the distance. These two images make a very interesting "before and after."

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

Half Dome in the winter with clouds all around

To get this image, we skied out along the Glacier Point Road in Yosemite National Park. The road is open during the summer for people to drive to Glacier Point and look down at the view of Yosemite Valley and across at Half Dome. During the winter, the road isn't plowed, so getting to Glacier Point means skiing or snowshoeing, usually. You would park your car at the Badger Pass Ski Area, then ski or snowshoe 10.5 miles (about 17 km) to reach Glacier Point. This view is from along the road but before reaching the point itself. A couple of turnouts before the point offer spectacular views, as well.

This image was captured on film years ago and scanned more recently for inclusion on our blog.

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

California's El Dorado National Forest's Bridalveil Falls, between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe

On the drive between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, along Highway 50, in the El Dorado National Forest, there's a turnout for people to view Bridalveil Falls where Esmeralda Creek flows over the brink on its way to join the South Fork of the American River. We were on our way to the Sierra to get in a few hours of cross-country skiing while California has plenty of snow. The storm that dropped snow on the mountains was followed by a blast of cold air, so the falls had ice coating the rocks away from the main stream. Because we look like well-equipped photographers, we are often asked to take group photos for other people, and that did happen while we were stopped at these falls. The family seemed happy with the result.

This image is a merging of three images taken horizontally from top to bottom using the same settings for each. These were ISO 100, f4, 1/45 sec. It has been cropped to a 4x6 ratio and would make a good 8x12 picture.

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

Coyote near Sentinel Dome in Yosemite National Park in winter

On one of our many cross country ski trips along the Glacier Point Road in Yosemite National Park, we camped near Sentinel Dome late at night and didn't awaken until late the next morning.  As we were lying in our tent, we heard an animal trotting through the snow around us.  We looked outside and saw this coyote approach us as though he was expecting us to give him a handout.  Eventually he moved in closer and laid down in the snow and waited to see what we would do.  He was only about ten feet away.  While he waited, a second coyote bounded in and the two of them chased each other around until they both ran off.

 Actually we were a little concerned that the coyote might run off with a piece of our gear.  The night before as we were skiing in we encountered a couple of skiers heading out at about 3 A.M.  They told us that they had encountered a coyote a couple of hours earlier when they had stopped for a rest break.  The coyote was trying to get some food from them and they responded by throwing snowballs at him to shoo him away.  Eventually the coyote gave up, but not before grabbing one of their ski poles and running off with it.  The two skiers who told us this story asked us to keep an eye out for their friend who was trailing behind them.  As we continued skiing in, we encountered the other skier, who was using a roadside marker as a not-very-effective replacement ski pole, about twenty minutes later.  We let him know how far behind his friends he was and he thanked us and then said that he would do that coyote in, if he ever caught him.

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

Yosemite's "Gateway" from the west to east from Tunnel View area

Yosemite Valley's "Gateway" is the Cathedral Rocks to the south and El Capitan to the north. This view was taken from the Tunnel View looking eastward from above the valley floor. Below the Cathedral Rocks is Bridalveil Falls. Beyond them is Sentinel Dome, in this photo it is covered in snow and showing above the lowest of the Cathedral Rocks. Beyond Sentinel Dome, is Half Dome, Yosemite's most famous land mark. Then, beyond Half Dome, in the center of the photo, is Clouds Rest. It's covered in snow and has a long north-facing slope. Clouds Rest is actually 1000 feet higher in elevation than Half Dome.

We drove to Yosemite from Fresno, California and parked at the popular Tunnel View turnout. However, Rick knows some locations around there that the typical tourist doesn't go to, allowing for a view that's not so common. This image is the combination of 4 images combined in the computer to get much more resolution, as well. The day was sunny despite being in February.

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

Yosemite's winter landscape from the "real" Tunnel View

Maybe this could be called "The Real Tunnel View" of Yosemite Valley.

Many visitors to Yosemite Valley arrive by driving Highway 41 through the south entrance and pass through the famous Wawona Tunnel. In February of 2011, we went skiing at the Badger Pass ski area and the Glacier Point Road. After skiing, we paid a visit to the valley and were immediately struck (not physically... mentally) by the icycles hanging from the rim of the tunnel. So we pulled off into the Tunnel View parking area, and, when traffic permitted, we walked back into the tunnel to fire off several photos of the view of the valley with the end of the tunnel and its icycles included in the images. To the left is El Capitan, with icycles pointing down at it. To the right are the Cathedral Rocks, with another icycles marking the high point, sort of. Just left of center is Half Dome and Clouds Rest, which, true to its name, very often has clouds enveloping it, as is the case here.

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