Yosemite and Death Valley - Sept. 2021 (88 Images)
01. The Fresno Airport welcomes us.
2. Yosemite National Park – Half-Dome at sunset.
3. Yosemite Valley, shortly after sunrise.
4. Hiking to Sentinel Dome.
5. Rick pauses after
scaling half the dome.
scaling half the dome.
6. Julie embarks on the upward journey.
7. Beautiful spot for lunch.
8. The approaching ominous smoke
from the Sequoia National Park Fire.
from the Sequoia National Park Fire.
9. Happy hikers.
10. Time for a yoga pose?
11. The views were spectacular from Sentinel Dome.
12. A view of Half-Dome from Sentinel Dome.
13. A scraggly, dead,
creepy-looking tree – run away!
14. We saw a bear!
15. On the way to Vernal Falls.
16. Julie feels sassy today.
17. The valley below Vernal Falls.
18. Trump forgot to maintain the trails
while he played President.
while he played President.
19. Vernal Falls was a dud due to the drought,
but this was still another amazing lunch spot.
but this was still another amazing lunch spot.
20. Such a nice view.
21. An artsy-fartsy sunglasses
photo of Half-Dome.
photo of Half-Dome.
22. El Capitan. This hunk of granite is 3,000 feet from base to summit.
23. Awake for sunrise. There were a lot of very early mornings on this trip.
24. There were lots of early risers today.
25. A cross-section of a giant
Sequoia at Mariposa Grove.
26. Demonstrating the width of a tree trunk.
27. That’s a tall tree. The sequoias are on
average 160-280 feet tall
with a diameter of 20-26 feet.
average 160-280 feet tall
with a diameter of 20-26 feet.
28. The Bachelor and Three Graces.
These trees are a couple thousand years old!
These trees are a couple thousand years old!
29. The 2,500-year-old Grizzly Giant.
It’s the 25th largest tree in the world.
It’s the 25th largest tree in the world.
30. Another amazing lunch spot.
31. The trees are gargantuan.
The photos can’t do them justice.
The photos can’t do them justice.
32. Mid-afternoon view of Yosemite Valley.
33. Next day – on the way
to Tioga Road, bright and early.
to Tioga Road, bright and early.
34. Ready to explore the Toulumne Grove.
35. We were awestruck by the huge trees.
36. Imagine a tree like this in your backyard!
37. Julie likes reading the ancient graffiti.
38. Yes, vandalism is nothing new.
39. "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is
around to hear it, does it make a sound?”
around to hear it, does it make a sound?”
40. It’s a long way to the top.
41. Looming large.
42. Look at the size of those roots!
43. A view of Half-Dome from Tioga Road.
44. Julie attempts to see climbers on Half-Dome.
45. Tranquil scene along Tioga Road.
46. On the way to Death Valley, we stopped at the
WWII Manzanar concentration camp for Japanese Americans.
47. Nice digs in the middle of a desert … geesh…
48. We’re on a road to nowhere.
49. The smoke from the fire at the Sequoia National Forest was thick.
50. The smoke provided a filtered view of the sun.
51. Our patio at The Ranch at Death Valley.
52. Waiting for sunrise at Zabriske Point.
53. Exhibiting incredible patience after
arriving at the Point 45-minutes before sunrise.
arriving at the Point 45-minutes before sunrise.
54. Such pretty colors.
55. Oooohhhh…
56. Aaaahhh…
57. Every year, there are stupid people
who ignore the warning and end up dead.
58. Hiking the Badlands Trail
from Zabriske Point.
59. Still on the Badlands Trail.
60. Uh-oh, the sun is starting to come on strong.
61. Sandy shadow art.
62. Queen of the hill.
63. Below sea level at Badwater Basin.
64. Lots of salty bad water available from time-to-time.
65. The Devi’s Golf Course, so named because
only the devil could play golf on such rough links.
Raise your hand if you knew Satan golfs.
only the devil could play golf on such rough links.
Raise your hand if you knew Satan golfs.
66. A view of Artists Palette from the safety of our air-conditioned car.
67. More Artists Palette.
68. Our pool at the Ranch – we visited often.
69. Strolling around the Ranch at Death Valley...
70. …where the temperature was plenty hot at 6pm.
71. It was a chilly morning waiting for the sunrise at Dante’s View.
72. It was pouring rain out there,
but it never made it to the ground.
but it never made it to the ground.
73. Happy to see the sun and warm-up.
74. Neither photos nor words can do it justice.
75. Death Valley in the early morning.
76. Home of the world’s most dangerous toilet.
77. A pretty morning in the Valley.
78. Hiking the Golden Canyon Trail.
79. Golden Canyon Trail.
80. Our goal was the Red Cathedral.
81. Getting up close and personal
with the Red Cathedral.
with the Red Cathedral.
82. It would be easy to get lost and die out there.
83. It was uncomfortably hot when
we left the canyon (before 10am).
we left the canyon (before 10am).
84. And it was another cooker at dinner-time.
85. This is what feeling roasted looks like.
86. We stopped at Mesquite Dunes on our way out of the Valley.
87. It’s a popular spot
for wedding photography.
for wedding photography.
88. The Tehachapi Loop – an engineering marvel from the 1800’s built to climb the
mountain. Any train that is at least 3,800 feet long (56-60 box cars)
passes over itself going around the loop.
mountain. Any train that is at least 3,800 feet long (56-60 box cars)
passes over itself going around the loop.