Framedlight

Another early morning start and this time to Sentinel Bridge in the valley for dawn. I realise now that a map of the valley might be useful. We were staying at the Upper Pines camp site so it was not far to Sentinel Bridge which is shown on the lower map.We got there early and watched as the light started to pick out Half Dome and reflections could be seen in the Merced river from the bridge. It was not an explosive sunrise, but the gentle light was pretty and picked out the golden colours of the autumn trees. Here are views in both directions from the bridge. Sentinel Bridge lies to the lefthand side of Cooks meadow where the grasses were frosted and covered with a low lying mist. There is an elm tree there which I did know about before I went, but had not realised how photographed it is. In its fall colour it caught the light of the rising sun perfectly and was surrounded by a bevy of photographers and tripods. They run short workshops from the Ansel Adams galle...

Coming down the way from Glacier Point you pass Tunnel View, a famous overlook immortalised by Ansel Adams' photograph " Clearing Winter Storm" which was taken from just above here, where the old road used to travel. By the time we got to Tunnel View  the car park was full of coaches and the panorama of the valley could not be seen for tourists of all nationalities jostling for position. We did an about turn and drove down to the parking area around El Capitan and walked to the bottom of Bridal Veil Falls. The falls are so called as the wind causes the water to spray out at the top in a veil. Unfortunately there is not a lot of water in October, but I did take a photo to show the effect. El Capitan, a face of sheer granite, rises 3,000 ft from the valley floor. On the opposite side are Cathedral Rocks, pretty ambitious in their own right and we had a short walk around here. Sticking to the tourist trail we landed at the Ahwahnee Hotel a very posh venue w...