Hiking, day 2: Yosemite Valley Loop

I hit the visitor's center, museum, and gallery first thing in the morning, before heading out on two different hikes during the day and evening.

Another shot of Yosemite Falls, this time with the right vantage point to catch both sections from the road.

An old Indian cycle from early days in the valley, located in the museum.

Outdoor shot of the Ansel Adams photo gallery - shots inside weren't allowed, but it's a cool gallery and shop.

More shots of the falls as I headed towards the Valley Loop trail.

The Valley Loop is another close and easy trail in Yosemite. With the snow fall the night before, the part of the trail I hit was rather untouched.

On the way back I took the other route to the lower falls before heading back to the lodge.

So - it turns out that the time of year we visited is the time of the famous Firefalls at Horsetail Fails.  We headed out in the evening to catch them. Unfortunately...we headed too far down the trail and weren't at the right vantage point. Pretty disappointing. If you get a chance to go, make sure you're viewing from the far east edge!

On the way back from the Firefalls, the moon was reflecting quite nicely off of the snow.

The Majestic

No hiking today with the snow storm - just a shot from our lodge of the low hanging clouds around the mountains. But in the evening, we headed over to The Majestic - an historic hotel in the park.

I always try to take upshots of fun lighting fixtures!

Hiking, day 1: Lower Yosemite Falls

I'm getting over a respiratory infection, so I kept my hiking excursions to some of the closer, flatter trails - still, some amazing views! Here's Yosemite Falls, as seen from the road before heading out on the trail.

Close-up.

Caught an airplane flying over the falls.

After a quick hike, you come to the base of the lower section of the falls.

A view looking back from the trail on the way out.

The snow and the water made for some fun, reflective shots with the sun.

Yosemite National Park

Happy New Year! I've been busier at work than expected so not much hiking going on in the last two months, but we did take a trip to Yosemite this month!

We landed in Fresno and made the three hour drive north - there was quite a scenery change along the way! Here's farmland just north of the city.

Past the farmland, we get into the foothills.

...and once we hit serious elevation, we're on snow-covered roads (Yosemite had just gotten a little less than 3' of snow over the weekend), driving with chains. Quite a difference from just an hour or two down the road!

Driving through the tunnel just past the park entrance.

El Capitan!

The final few miles in the national park to our lodge.