The Best View of Chilnualna Falls Ever, in Yosemite

For a while, we became obsessed with getting the best possible picture of Chilnualna Falls, in the southern part of Yosemite National Park. Everyone who hikes from the Wawona area to Chilnualna Falls, sees these falls from the north looking south. In fact, the trail is always north of the creek. We found a much better view by crossing Chilnualna Creek and positioning ourselves where we could see the falls from the south looking north, plus being there at the time of day when the sun's light reaches all the way to the bottom of the falls. Searching for the best possible view also invloved us climbing a rope up to a tree branch along the trail and also rappelling down the cliff face to the area at the right in this photo where the dried plants are located. That position got us too close to the falls to get it all in a single shot, so we figured on backing up further in order to take it all in. So that's what we did and how we got this image.

The falls can't be seen from the Wawona area because there's a big granite wall in front of it. After getting this shot, we also managed to get to the top of that wall and look at the falls straight on.

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

Granite arch in Yosemite, along Chilnualna Creek, Wawona area

During a backpacking trip in Yosemite during the second week of June, 2018, we were headed out on the last day along Chilnualna Creek and visited this natural arch. We had already found it years ago during a trip to this area. We think it was formed from a pothole in the granite that eroded downward until it broke through the bottom of a ledge. By estimating the size with Bob's tripod, we determined that the opening was about 1.5 meters or about 4 feet across. That puts it in the "minor" arch category, but still, an arch made of granite is a rare thing. We first approached the arch from the side of the creek where the trail runs along, but we took these pictures after crossing the creek upstream from this spot and positioning ourselves to see the maximum opening possible.

This was the third day of a loop backpacking trip we took along the Alder Creek trail and looping clockwise to come out by the Chilnualna Falls and cascades, which are dramatic in their own right. We really took our time in this area, almost 4 hours, before heading down the trail which loses about 2000 feet (610 meters) in elevation to the trailhead where we parked the car.

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

Golden Gate Bridge and full moon rising

The world famous Golden Gate Bridge with a full moon rising behind it.  Because of the high contrast between a night scene and the full moon, it's very difficult to have the entire scene properly exposed.  Because of that, these images are a composite of two shots.  The first shot was exposed for the night scene and the second was zoomed in and exposed for the moon.  Bob then resized and positioned the moon shot over where the moon was in each of the first shots.

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

Yosemite Moonbow, Memorial Day Weekend 2018

In Yosemite National Park, California, in spring and early summer and around the time of the full moon, the mist from Yosemite Falls can form a moonbow, or lunar rainbow or a waterfall mistbow. A moonbow is a rainbow caused by moon light, rather than sunlight. When viewing this phenomenon, most people can't see the color of the spectrum because the moonlight is too dim to stimulate the color receptors in your eyes.  We have encountered some people who claim that they can see some color in the moonbows,  however.  With a long exposure, 20 to 30 seconds, with a camera, the colors appear in the final image. The night of the full moon is the brightest, but up to 2 days before or after the night of the full moon could also work.

For the above images, Bob went on the night of the full moon on Memorial Day 2018 to Lower Yosemite Falls.  Although the images look like they could've been taken during the day, he included stars in the sky to prove that they were nighttime shots.  In the vertical image, the Big Dipper hangs over the Lower Yosemite Falls and the moonbow.  When Bob first got to the falls, the moonbow was fairly high above the mist from the falls, but as the night went on, it got lower and lower until it was in front of the mist.

One of the great challenges of taking this sort of image is that you need the mist from the falls in order to get the moonbow, but then if the mist reaches high enough, it can make the rest of the image look fuzzy. There's also a very good chance that you'll get wet  depending on how great the water flow over the waterfall is and on which way and how strongly the wind is blowing.

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

Pacific Dogwood bloom in Yosemite

In late spring, usually peaking in May, Pacific dogwoods (Cornus nuttalli) bloom in Yosemite National Park.  This photo is of a dogwood blooming in Yosemite Valley around the Majestic Yosemite (formerly the Ahwahnee) Hotel.  Bob took it just after a light rain had swept through the valley.

Besides May being a good time to visit Yosemite to see the dogwoods blooming, it's also a great time to see waterfalls pouring off the granite walls of Yosemite Valley after a good rainy season.

The dogwood "flower" actually consists of a tight cluster of tiny flowers in the middle with several large white bracts that look like petals.  The leaves of dogwoods exhibit what's called "arcuate venation."  This means that the veins on its leaves curve toward the leaf edge instead of going in a rather straight path from the main stem toward the leaf edge.

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

Pacific Crest Trail Association annual meeting April 28, 2018

Rick's October 1982 solo trip on the Pacific Crest Trail, covering the distance of about 70 miles from Sonora Pass to Echo Summit. I bought the pack new and unfortunately didn't consider the hype about it's design. I ended up carrying the entire weight of my gear on my shoulders because the hip belt was nearly useless. After this trip, I got rid of the pack and went back to my older one, which I had kept.

Rick attended the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Pacific Crest Trail Association, in Sacramento. When he worked on the trail crew for the Toiyabe National Forest in the summer of 1982, he got paid to go backpacking out on Mondays and return on Fridays for a couple of months. During that summer, he worked on portions of the PCT, mainly in California's Alpine County. After the seasonal job ended, Rick went back to hike from Sonora Pass to Echo Summit by himself, covering about 70 miles, with most of the trail distance being familiar already.

We have also hiked the Rae Lakes Loop in Kings Canyon National Park, which includes a portion of the PCT. We got a twin selfie shot of us two at the high point of the loop at Glen Pass.

Rick has also hiked a portion of the PCT farther south with a friend, through the Evolution Valley area. We'd like to hike at least the length of the Sierra Nevada soon.

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

Happy Earth Day 2018 from the Robinson Twins

Happy Earth Day 2018

from

The Robinson Twins

We're standing in Twisted Doughnut Arch with Delicate Arch beyond, in Arches National Park, during Spring 2017. Bob's in the center and Rick's holding a tripod.

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

Half Dome from the east, looking west

This is the view of Half Dome from the east along the trail that leads to the top of Half Dome. We took two days to reach the top.  On the first day, we hiked past Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall to set up camp in Little Yosemite Valley. This second day we continued the hike, unencumbered by backpacks, to the top. After enjoying some time at the top of Half Dome, we headed back down, packed up our gear, then made it back out to Yosemite Valley. From the other side, the side most people see, it looks like solid rock. From the east side, though, Half Dome looks like a big onion with layers peeling off. That's the way granite erodes, through a process called exfoliation.

Photo of Rick on his way up the cables to the top of Half dome

We heard some other people who were headed to the top exclaim at this view and decide to give up and turn around. Before reaching the base of Half Dome, the trail leads to the "Quarter Dome", also known as the "Sub Dome" seen at the left edge of this image. In some ways, the part of the hike that goes up the Quarter Dome is the scariest part of the hike, because it's steep but there's no railing or cable to hold on to. Plus, hikers are going in both directions. Upon reaching the saddle between the Quarter Dome and Half Dome, you arrive at the base of the cables that lead to the top. Some other hikers made it that far, but after looking up at how steep the way to the top was, decided to head turn around. It is rather intimidating, but we've made it to the top three times...so far.

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

Point Mariah panorama, Royal Gorge Cross Country Ski Resort, Soda Springs, California

We had been meaning for years to visit the Royal Gorge Cross Country Ski Resort in Soda Springs, California to experience what it's like to cross country ski at a resort.  Most of our skiing has been on trails in national parks or national forests.  The winter of 2017-18 had been pretty dry until good storms in March finally built up the snowpack.  So, in late March, we spent a day skiing at this resort and our intended destination on their trail system was Point Mariah, since it overlooks the Royal Gorge that the resort is named for.  It turns out that the Royal Gorge is the entire headwaters area of the North Fork of the American River.

This panorama is a merger of several vertical shots.

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

Chuckwalla and rocky textures in Death Valley

This chuckwalla lizard was hanging out near the Dante's View scenic area in Death Valley National Park. It's interesting how the texture of the lizard's skin so closely blends with the textures in the rocks. Chuckwalla's are very comfortable moving around rocks and wedging themselves into the crevices between rocks. One method that chuckwallas use to keep away from predators is to flee into a crevice, then inflate their bodies to create enough pressure that they cannot be dislodged. This one, though, was out in the open for quite a while when people were walking past and looking at the view of Death Valley and the Badwater Basin and also noticing this large lizard sunning itself.

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

Lake Helen and Mount Lassen in early summer, Lassen Volcanic National Park, California

Twice each year Lassen Volcanic National Park allows bikers automobile-free access to the Lassen Park Road, the 30-mile road through the heart of the park.  The first time is after the road is snow free, but before they open it to motorized traffic and the second time is just before they close the road for the winter.  The actual dates that these happen depends on the snowpack in any given year.

In 2016 we took advantage of a car-free biking day at Lassen on June 11th.  We started at the Southwest Entrance and made it as far as an overlook of Kings Creek Meadow before turning around.  Just past the high point of the road on our way back, we took a series of photos of Lake Helen and Mount Lassen, the high point just right of center, to create this panorama.  The ice and snow covered Lake Helen in the foreground is nearly surrounded by this beautiful turquoise melt water, while Mount Lassen looms in the background.

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

El Capitan facing the sunset, Yosemite National Park

As a winter storm was clearing over the Sierra Nevada, in Yosemite National Park, the massive El Capitan faces the setting sun. This time of year, may people visit Yosemite in order to see the "firefall" of the red light of the setting sun causing the the waters of Horsetail Fall to glow and appear to be on fire. Unfortunately, there's no water in the waterfall this year due to a very dry winter. So in this image, we decided we should concentrate on El Capitan and the dramatic-looking sunset. We set ourselves up along the Four-Mile Trail on Yosemite Valley's south side for this picture. We had to leave the trail and go up a little bit of the slope to get a clear view.

This view might also illustrate why Horsetail Fall is a temporary waterfall. The drainage basin that supplies the water for the fall is just the eastern slope of El Capitan. You can see that basin at the upper right of this picture. So without much rainfall or melting snow to feed it, there is no waterfall.

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Black-necked stilt on the move, Cosumnes River Preserve, Galt, California

Black-necked stilts are small wading birds that feed in wetlands. This one was getting in a meal at the Cosumnes River Preserve before the sun set. There were many people at this part of the preserve looking for sandhill cranes, which we could hear in the distance. In this image, notice how the foot is blurred because of how fast it's moving, but it was captured just before entering the water so you can see its reflection in the surface of the water.

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