Friday, May 13, 2005

From massive to miniature. After yesterday's walk through the giant sequoias, today I spent time in the forests and meadows of Yosemite looking down instead of up most of the time in search of interesting plant life.

Since my arrival on May 1, spring has asserted itself with a vengeance at the lower altitudes. (In contrast, they're still plowing through 20-foot drifts trying to clear Tioga Road before July...a goal typically set for Memorial Day. Winter still rules at altitudes over 6,000 feet!) Wildflowers and new leaves have sprouted and are growing at an almost-visible rate. The dogwoods, which were just emerging two weeks ago now cover large sections of the Yosemite Valley.

I first cruised the valley (amid an ever-increasing visitor population...it's getting crowded here!) and found the fresh bright green maple leaves at the right along with an abstract design of moss and lichen on a granite slab.

I tried to escape the bumper-to-bumper valley traffic by heading down Route 140 to check out the trail to Hite's Cove, a wild flower location mentioned in Michael Frye's book. Unfortunately, they're resurfacing that highway, so I wound up in another bumper-to-bumper line when it narrowed to one lane for a few miles. The trail itself wasn't exceptional (in fact, there are no images here from that hike), but Route 140 offered wide selection of visual goodies along its shoulders, including all the flower pictures shown here.

Tomorrow's my last day of photography here. Sunday will be spent packing, cleaning Mr. Cramer's cabin, and driving back to Los Angeles. I haven't figured out yet how I'll spend my last day here yet, but it'll probably depend a lot on the weather. Recently, it's been boringly sunny (great for vacationers but pretty bland for photographers), and if tomorrow's the same, the valley should be packed with tourists. I may go to the valley, park the truck and take a hike up to Mirror Lake to see how the increased springtime plant growth has enhanced that view. We'll see...

« Back  |  Next »