California, 24th October, an early start and some time in relative solitude

We had set the alarm for a 5.30 call, but slept through it till about 6.00am, as our intention was to get up to Glacier Point for dawn. We were camped just under it but to get to the top is a 45minute car trip round twisty roads, so we threw our clothes on and Mairi decided she would like to drive which she did, as fast as she could (Yosemite has a 20mph speed limit through the valley). We had got close to the top at Washburn Point when things started to happen fast, the sky was brightening and there was a line of about 6 standing photographers pointing down the valley. I joined them and we took a couple of pictures before going back to the car and continuing for about 7 miles to Glacier Point from where we watched the sun hit the top of the Half Dome. Yosemite Falls would be visible in these pictures earlier in the year but by now was non-existent. You can see the Half Dome (8,842ft) on the right opposite North Dome and Basket Dome on the left hand side. The valley follows the river down to Tenaya Canyon. We tried to imagine our campsite nestling at the bottom (over 3,000ft down) of the rather precipitous drop. The next day, at dawn, Mairi watched a couple of people base jumping from the top. Strictly forbidden in the ordered world of Yosemite National Park.








Going back to the carpark, where we stopped for breakfast, we noticed crows and lots of small squirrels. I think this one is a Douglas' squirrel. I had realised that Glacier Point would be a better sunset location so we resolved to go back at a later point.

From Glacier Point it is a short hop down the road to the trailhead of Sentinel Dome, a pudding basin of granite that affords 360 degree views of the valley. We were still relatively early and there were only a couple of other people at the top of the dome when we got there, a 2½ mile round trip. The bare granite has several live and dead architectural pine trees emerging from the hard rock and they were topped off by fluffy white clouds adding interest to the view. It was the place for an obvious panorama, the one here stitched from 9 shots. This was to be the end of our quiet time as we headed for the fleshpots of the valley and the tourist coaches.










Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Ancient Agora of Athens

Image
  After our trip to the seaside we thought we should examine more of the ancient sites of Athens. So we walked to the district of Monasteriki, the very busy touristic area, where behind iron railings lies the Greek Agora. This occupies a large area and was originally a place where the Athenians senate met, as well as holding the market, places for socialising, temples and craftsmen's workshops. We started by walking up the hill to the Temple of Hephaestus which overlooks the Agora. This temple was completed around 430BC and as Hephaestus was the patron god of metal work and craftsmanship it was built on a very fitting site, although it was used as church from the 7th century AD to 1833. We passed workmen tidying as we walked. From the top we got very good views over Athens. Directly under the temple lies the site of the ancient Bouleuterion which was the senate house where political discussion took place and the Metroon where the state archives were kept. The boule was a sort of pa...
Read more

A weekend in the Dingle, a damp drive and exciting lichen

Image
We woke to a drizzle the day after our 'Tom Crean experience'. We had not enlisted for the Tom Crean 19 mile endurance walk, and luckily that was sold out anyway, and given the weather would not have been pleasant by any yardstick. Instead we did what any old codger would do under the circumstances and go for a drive. The Slea Head Drive to be more precise and part of what the Dingle tourist board call the 'Wild Atlantic Way'. Wet and wild that particular Saturday. It is manners to drive clockwise around this circular route as the road is very narrow and cars coming the other way, as a couple did, cause all the traffic to snarl up. We started in Dingle where we stopped briefly by the harbour, before continuing until we shortly came to a museum. It was a private, commercial sort of venture, run by an American and called the Celtic and Prehistory Museum. And it was actually very interesting, containing some animal skeletons and stone axes and other such artefacts. Th...
Read more

Athens by night

Image
  The evening after we had returned from Piraeus we decided to have a walk around the bottom of the Acropolis Hill. The Parthenon and other temples were lit up so it was very scenic. We strolled to the entrance to the Odeon of Atticus, the amphitheatre at the base of the Acropolis. There were a few other people here taking in the atmosphere. We managed to get a view in through the iron gates of the seating area of the amphitheatre. We then walked to the footpath that led up the Hill of the Muses, another hill opposite the Acropolis. It was quite dark up there and a little creepy. At the top is the mausoleum of Philopappus. He was a prince who died in 116 AD and apparently so greatly mourned by his sister and the people of Athens that they built this monument to him. We got some tremendous views over Athens from the top and on coming back down into the town we could see the massive curtain wall around the base of the Acropolis. 
Read more

California 11th November, Monterey and the whales

Image
We left Point Lobos and drove into Monterey, finding a car park near the harbour. The 'front' at Monterey had the usual sea food shacks and tourist frippery as well as the occasional sleepy sea lion. We found the berth where our boat was due to depart for the wale watching trip and had our lunch to the delight of a lame sea gull. The boat came with it's own salty sea dog!. We boarded and got a place at the rear of the boat with good visibility although the weather was still cloudy and overcast, I put on my 200mm f/2.8 lens with the 1.4 converter giving me a total of 340mm reach. Mairi had a kit 28-300mm Sigma lens on her smaller sensor camera so could do a lot better than me. I also noticed that her smaller lens was a lot less liable to shake on the moving boat. The trials of using more professional equipment. On the way out of the harbour we passed a sea otter with a baby on her back and numerous sea lions sitting wherever they could...
Read more