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!

Bridalveil Falls along Highway 50, between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe

Bridal Veil Falls along Highway 50 east of Pollock Pines in January 2017.  This was after a series of storms had come through and helped bust California's drought.  This waterfall is readily accessible having its own turnout right off the highway.  This waterfall is formed where Esmeralda Creek falls 80 feet and then passes under the highway.

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

Entering Yellowstone National Park...Yay!

So we're happy to enter Yellowstone's western entrance and give that a thumbs-up.

But then when it's time to leave, we give that a thumbs-down and wish we didn't have to go.

We took these twin-selfies, using a Samsung Galaxy S III on a selfie stick, in August 2016 at West Yellowstone at the entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

Pitcher plants in Oregon, green but deadly

These pitcher plants that we found in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness in Oregon, are insect-eating plants. The insect crawls into the opening at the top to follow the scent to the inside of the tube, but downward-projecting hairs and a slippery surface cause the insect to be trapped inside. When it falls into the liquid inside the tube, it dies and is digested. The plant benefits from the extra nutrients. The pitcher plant tends to grow on nutrient-poor soil, so the extra nutrition gives it the chance to in places where poor soil might prevent it.

We backpacked into the Kalmiopsis Wilderness to look for and photograph the rare Kalmiopsis flower, but found many other interesting plants, too.

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

Yosemite Falls and the Lost Arrow, Yosemite National Park

From this view along the Four Mile Trail, you can see almost all of Yosemite Falls, the Lost Arrow (to the right of the falls), the Merced River below, and parts of the trail that leads to the top of the falls. You can see that trail by basically starting at the middle of the left edge of the frame, following the line of trees that leads from the ledge up to the rounded top of granite to the left of the falls on the granite ridge.

ISO 100, f8, 1/180, 37mm focal length, taken during February, 2014.

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

Half Dome at sunset in Yosemite Valley

Sunset at Yosemite Valley with the magnificent Half Dome as the main subject. There's North Dome at the left in this view. We've posted a photo of Half Dome as seen from the top of North Dome in an earlier section of our blog. We've been to the top of Half Dome three times, and Rick has been to the top of North Dome twice. One thing about the angle that Half Dome's face has in relation to the sun is that it is very often in shadow in the morning and isn't fully lit until the afternoon. There are now people hiking to the top of Half Dome at all hours of the day. We've met people started their hike to the top of Half Dome late at night because they wanted to witness the sunrise from the top the next morning.

Camera settings were 1/125 sec. f/5.6, ISO 100, 32 mm focal length.

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

Robinson Twins "twin selfie" in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, with Lower Falls

In our August, 2015 trip, we camped at Canyon Village in Yellowstone National Park. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is famous for the two waterfalls you can view from the rim of the canyon. The Lower Falls in the distance is about 300 feet high. A trail leads to the top of the falls. In this view, farther downstream, you can see much of the canyon walls, the Yellowstone River down below, some thermal features steaming from the walls, ospreys seeking fish, and the falls creating a mist.

This picture was taken with the Canon PowerShot SX530 HS at the end of a selfie stick. Rick, on the left, tried to angle the lens so that you couldn't tell that he was holding the selfie stick that easily. The previous evening, we showered at the Canyon Village's facilities and Rick bought new Yellowstone t-shirts for himself and Bob, which we were both wearing this day. Taken at ISO 100, f/8, 1/200 sec. at the widest lens angle.

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

Robinson Twins "twin selfie" at the Lewis River in southern Yellowstone, with Lewis Falls in the distance.

We entered Yellowstone from the south in August, 2015 and stopped at the Lewis River, where a bridge crosses over. In the distance, the highest waterfall on the river is Lewis Falls, south of Lewis Lake, from which the river drains. Lots of people stop here as essentially the first really scenic pull out along the road when coming in from the south. At least, it's the first waterfall you'll encounter when entering from the south end of the park.

Rick held his Canon PowerShot SX530 at the end of a selfie stick to take this picture. This camera is light enough that the selfie stick can hold it. This trip was the first time we decided to try getting what we call "twin selfies" with any camera. The picture was taken at ISO 200, f/8, 1/640 sec.

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

Yellowstone's Mammoth Hot Springs with hot water spilling over the edge of the terrace

View of Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park from the trail with hot water flowing from underground and spilling over the edge of a terrace that's constantly building up from the minerals, calcium carbonate, the water deposits. Steam rises from the water as it emerges from underground. The minerals form where the stream of water drips down, leaving an "icicle" of minerals. A couple of the chunks of mineral having broken off in the past and you can see the "icicles" point upward near the left-center of the screen. Another chunk is lying on its side with orange bacterial growth at the center.

This feature is in a state constant, gradual change and can engulf trees, and even parts of the terrace that are older, or the flow can shift and leave a section of the terrace dry and subject to erosion. This picture was taken with an ISO of 100, f/8, and 1/800 sec. The shutter speed helped to capture the drops of water spilling over the edge of the upper terrace.

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

Death Valley coyote looking around

Coyotes are very adaptable animals. You'll find them in the high mountains and low deserts. This one was right along the road in Death Valley National Park. It seems that after he looked at us for a while, thinking we might throw some food out for him, he started to consider his options and was looking to move on.

This photo also shows the effects of a camera lens's depth of field, where the more distant part of the scene is out of focus. Even the back and hind legs of the coyote are out of focus, but the face is in focus, which is the main thing you want to get right when you're taking wildlife photos, particularly the eye or eyes.

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

Manly Beacon at the upper end of Golden Canyon, Death Valley National Park, March 2016

This feature in Death Valley National Park is called Manly Beacon. An early explorer in this area was a man named Horace Manly, after whom this feature is named. It's often confused with a feature called Zabriskie Point, which is actually a hilltop from which you can view Manly Beacon, but people think they're looking "at" Zabriskie Point from that hilltop when they're actually looking "from" that hilltop.

The trail we were on for this photo eventually leads to the south side of this huge feature where you traverse across a steep slope to reach the upper end of Golden Canyon. The last few times we've hiked this trail, we've had the impression that the Beacon is a very imposing feature up close and it should be more famous as an iconic figure of Death Valley.

This photo was taken with a camcorder that can also take 20 megapixel still images. The settings were f/4, 1/180 sec, the ISO is not recorded.

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

Acorn woodpecker in an oak tree during winter.

An acorn woodpecker stands on a branch of an oak tree in February at Phoenix Park in Sacramento County, California. This area is north of the American River beyond the bluffs. The park has baseball fields but also is home to a rare habitat, vernal pools. Vernal pools form during the winter and as they dry, several plant and animal species go through their entire life cycle to take advantage of the presence of water. For the rest of the year, the ground is dry. Acorn woodpeckers are the only woodpeckers that nest in colonies and feed on acorns.

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

The Tunnel View of Yosemite Valley

This is the famous Tunnel View of Yosemite Valley.  El Capitan, the largest granite monolith in the world, is to the left, Bridal Veil Falls and the Cathedral Rocks are on the right, and Half Dome is tucked into the back with Clouds Rest, 1,000 feet higher, beyond.  Visitors can get this view by driving up to the Wawona Tunnel and turning off at the viewpoint, or, if coming in from the south, driving through the tunnel and turning off immediately after it ends. The tunnel is about a mile long and you're expected to turn on your car's headlights while you're inside it. Don't be surprised if someone else in the tunnel starts honking their car's horn. Some drivers like to hear the echo of their horn.

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