Views from the valley floor

Here are a collection of photos taken from the floor of Yosemite Valley. All of these shots were taken just a short distance from one of the roads in the valley. Easy views to get.

First up is a shot of El Capitan. Tammy and I ate lunch next to Merced River one day, and this was our view. The next photo after this is with my long lens, zoomed in on climbers on the rock face. They are completely invisible unless you look through something with magnification.





This is a sideways view of Yosemite Falls, the water falling away from the rock face as it crosses the brink.



A short trail to a bridge over the Merced River takes you past this meadow. The next shot is from that bridge, looking downstream.





I decided that this last photo looked better as a black and white. Maybe I was inspired by Ansel.

Yosemite Falls

When you visit Yosemite Valley, you really can't help but see Yosemite Falls. But you really ought to take the time to take the walk up to the lower falls - it is just too easy of a walk. On the other hand, if you are up for a real challenge (which we weren't :-), you can take a trail to the very top of the upper falls.

Here are a few photos of the short easy walk to the base of the lower falls. The path through the grove of trees, the distant view of both the upper and lower falls, and a pair of views of the lower falls.

Sentinel Dome

A mere four weeks after my trip to Corpus Christi, I am on yet another trip. This trip is to Yosemite National Park, and is a week's vacation wrapped around a very important occasion: a marriage ceremony. To be more specific: last fall, Tammy and I decided to tie the knot, and we thought it would be cool to get married in Yosemite. We officially get married on Wednesday, but in the mean time, we are both really enjoying the astounding vistas that are to be found here.

One of the first places we decided to visit within the park is Sentinel Dome. A short trail gets you on top of what is literally a dome shaped chunk of rock, 8122 feet above sea level, with 360 degree views all around. You can peer down into Yosemite valley and see famous Yosemite sights such as El Capitan, Yosemite Falls and Half Dome. My fear of heights kept me from the edge (and the associated very long drop), but even from the "center" of the dome, there was no really shortage of photos to be taken. Here are a few from the bunch.

First, here are a couple of photos of distant Yosemite falls. They were on the other side of the valley, and you could still hear their dull roar.

This view includes El Capitan - the large vertical face of rock on the right.



The final view shows snow capped mountains in the distance, and Half Dome in the foreground (towards the right).