Have you visited Yosemite? What time of year did you go?
I've written about Yosemite several times over the last few years. The fact that it's one of my favorite places on Earth certainly has something to do with it - especially because it's the closest favorite by several thousand miles.
I've visited at least once a year since 1998, and often manage to get there 2-3 times per year. I've done a few trips in September (anniversary celebration) and 20 or so in June/July. A few weeks ago, I made my second late winter visit; the only other time was in 2005. The contrast with summer months couldn't be more stark.
Something's different here...
This will be a fairly picture-heavy diary, fewer birds than usual, but some cool stuff nonetheless. I'll try to keep it worth looking at.
We stayed at the Ahwahnee - hubby's gift to himself for his birthday (it's his version of "camping"). It was actually supposed to be last year for his 60th birthday, but the trip was cancelled when the valley was closed due to heavy snow and power outage. The hotel rescheduled us and upgraded our room to make up for the initial disappointment. It was our chance to pretend we were in the 1% for a few days.
Hubby has long wanted to be in Yosemite Valley with a nice blanket of snow all around. No blanket of snow alas, but we arrived to snow flurries adding a bit of atmosphere between us and the valley walls.
When we travel, I like to get up early (my usual hours) and he likes to sleep even later than normal. I use that time to walk around and explore; the world is a very different place in those hours just after sunrise. A stroll along the Merced River near Upper Pines campground took me to this mini-fortress some enterprising soul had constructed. When we visit in June, the water level here is 6-8 feet higher, and roaring out of the mountains, enough to reduce this to rubble in minutes.
Speaking of Upper Pines: for those of you familiar with camping in Yosemite Valley, here's a site to behold. It's the first loop of the campground, looking from the river end of the loop all the way back to the bathrooms at the far end of the loop. There were a few scattered tents in addition to this camper, but... wow. And remarkably quiet.
Looking up the river from the bridge, you might be able to see a log resting on a gravel bar midstream.
A closer view. When we visit in June, the water surrounds this log and leaves just a small bit of the trunk and half of the root structure still visible. Although it was easy to walk out there this time of year, it's splendidly isolated....
... breeding season. Rushing water provides protection from many predators, and there are a few nesting cavities which take advantage of it. One is used by chickadees, but for the past two years, we've watched this one...
... as it hosted White-headed Woodpeckers. I hope they'll be back again this year.
Boat-billed Heron Raven? No idea what this bird was carrying, but it made for a really odd appearance. A moment later it returned to a more typical raven look, taking a casual stroll under the trees.
It was fascinating to see calm waters on the rivers, since our June visits are often at or just after the peak of spring runoff. You just don't get the chance to see these amazing reflections then. This is the view from Stoneman Bridge.
Of course, given our luck with weather the last few Junes, maybe it wouldn't be surprising to find as much ice on the river then as I saw in early March.
Another morning found me among very tall trees as the morning light tried to find its way down into the valley. As large as they are, they still seem the right height when you see them against the immense walls of the valley.
Birds can be hard to spot when they're a few hundred feet above your head with no direct sunlight. Woodpeckers (like the Flicker below) are a little easier because they seem to be pretty vocal, and they like the bare snags.
Even the large, loud, chattering, hammering Pileated Woodpecker can be hard to spot atop that tall a snag. It was only when this one took flight and landed on a more visible snag that I finally saw it.
If you've ever been to Mirror Lake in the summer, you will probably remember sharing the walk with hundreds of people, even early and late in the day. Feast your eyes on this:
Stupidly, I didn't think to get any photos of the most amazing sight of all: the base of Yosemite Falls with less than a dozen people total. Among them was a couple we glimpsed exchanging rings. They were visiting from Minnesota and celebrating their anniversary. They'd been married in that very spot four years before. What a great way to start a life together.
After our walk over to the falls, I took a long afternoon walk to Happy Isles while hubby relaxed and read. I heard an unmistakable song coming from the water's edge below - one of my favorite Yosemite birds, American Dipper. After a brief spell of singing, it began searching for a meal - dipping its head into the water to have a look around.
It cast off from the shore and swam in deeper water, regularly peeking below the water's surface to see if there was anything tasty down on the rocks.
I finally saw one do what dippers are known for doing - it dove down and walked on the rocky bottom to get food. Not the easiest photos to discern, but still... I finally saw a dipper dipping!
It returned to shore to sing some more, surrounded by the water and reflecting the brilliant late winter sky.
The valley in winter is much less birdy than the summer - that's a tradeoff you have to make to have this crowd-free experience (though I suspect that by now the birds are starting to arrive but not yet the crowds). Though they are fewer in quantity, they are not lesser in quality. I never tire of Spotted Towhees, and was happy to have one so close at hand on the hotel grounds.
Varied Thrushes were a happy surprise - I don't see them often, and have never seen them in Yosemite before. Yet they were all over the valley, turning up regularly during my walks. One more reason to schedule another trip back when we can have the place to ourselves.