AUTUMN IN YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

There are not enough adjectives in the dictionary to adequately describe the beauty of Yosemite in the fall. Lou & I just spent three days taking in the stunning fall colors of this gorgeous national park. A special deal at Yosemite Lodge was the catalyst for our Veteran’s Day getaway.

The weather cooperated fully with a few inches of snow the day before we arrived, but blue sky & bright sunshine during our stay. It was cold & crisp with the autumn foliage at its peak.

Some of the beautiful color throughout the valley floor.

Yosemite Chapel looked striking set against the fall color.

A snow covered meadow in Yosemite Valley.

No trip to Yosemite is complete without a drive to Tunnel View. The classic scene of El Capitan & Half Dome never gets old.

Lou had the idea of photographing many of the historical stone bridges in Yosemite Valley. We’ve driven over them countless times but on this trip we stopped & traipsed through the snow to get these pictures.

Pohono Bridge

Sentinel Bridge

A view of Half Dome reflecting in the Merced River taken from Sentinel Bridge.

El Capitan Bridge

This bridge didn't have a name that we could find, however it was one of the most scenic.

But, of course, the star of the photo op show was Half Dome. We found a perfect location to capture the brilliant golds, yellows & oranges framing the mountain. By walking ten feet, you had a completely different shot – it was a photographer’s paradise! Even a thousand words can't describe these photos.



While Lou was attempting to scale the cliffs to Upper Yosemite Falls, I spent the day communing with nature & enjoying a couple of much easier hikes.

Mirror Lake - or "Mirror Meadow" since the lake dried up. Even in spring it is only "Mirror Marsh".

I loved this winter wonderland scene on the trail to Mirror Lake.

My second hike to the bottom of Vernal Falls was a bit more strenuous.

This was a wonderful weekend retreat with great food, amazing scenery & more photo ops than I would have thought possible. As much as I love my pictures they don't begin to do justice to the actual scenes that surrounded us. We took over 375 pictures between us in less than three days. Awesome is a word that is way overused but it doesn't come close to describing Yosemite in the fall!

Lou & his friend - this deer probably would have eaten out of his hand.

More gorgeous fall scenery.

And even more gorgeous fall scenery.

This was my last photo before leaving the park - I loved the reflection.



FUN FILLED WEEK!

The highlight of my week was celebrating Charley Ellen’s birthday – twice! On my granddaughter’s actual first birthday, October 26^th, I headed over to give her one of her presents and wish her a happy birthday. Two days later on Sunday, we had a big party with 25 friends and family members.

Our birthday girl enjoying the back yard at her party.

Blowing out her candle on her birthday pumpkin pie with an assist from Mom & Dad.

Charley is on the move! She crawls all over the place and pulls herself up to standing, too. She loves going up the stairs (with someone right behind her, of course) and seems to have unlimited energy. It’s true what people say – if you could harness the energy of a child, you could rule the world. So far no photos of her standing and stair climbing since I have to stay right next to her. But trust me that little girl is fast!

It is so hard to believe that the tiny little 4 pound 7 ounce baby is now almost a toddler! It went by so fast!

Charley Ellen about an hour old last year - such a tiny little baby!

What a difference a year makes! Charley at Lake Tahoe last month.

A few days later Charley, Mom & Dad enjoyed their second Halloween (the first she was only five days old) as a family. Darrin & Allison LOVE Halloween! They really get into it taking great delight in decorating the house & dressing up.

Charley was a black cat in her furry costume. 

The black cat was on the move!

Happy Halloween!