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It had snowed the weekend before, so we stopped along
the way (several times) for a romp.
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Alina tries to build a snowman in two inches of snow...
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As the girls made perfect clear to Dad, they do NOT
get to the snow very often!
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Alina being a snowman, having given up on completing
hers.
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Tessala tasting the snow.
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At last, some deep stuff!
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Crystal Creek
The effect of the low clouds just at the mountain top
was to make everything seem to disappear as it went
up.
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Crystal Creek
As you can see, you can't see (the top).
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We stopped briefly on the way in for a picture or two.
This is Bridal Veil Falls.
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Yosemite falls was just visible through the mist.
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The Melting of Winter
This is one of my all-time favorite shots.
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These must have been built some time before we got there,
but we took the credit by taking a photo.
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We brought along the girls bikes, and I had my inline
skates with me. The idea is that they would bike around
the park, and I would roll behind them. The arrangement
worked out even better than I thought it would.
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Playing near our campground.
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This is a high dynamic-range shot of the Merced river.
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It was a bit chilly first thing the next morning, but
it warmed up quickly enough.
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Biking to the Indian Caves.
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Alina is a bit afraid of heights, but seems to love
them, anyway. Look how far out Tessala goes -- just
like her Dad. No sense at all!
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On our way to Lower Yosemite Falls.
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Alina makes a snow mouse.
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Another park visitor took this photo for us, and stood
further away than I would have....
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Evaporation brought the temperature down around the
falls enough that the snow remained on the ground for
longer, and the girls were glad to see some more cold
white stuff to play in.
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I think this bench was a remnant from an earlier trail
that had been developed but torn down to return the
area to a more natural state. It was odd to see it
there.
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Half dome in a soft blanket of white.
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In our campground, there were some small streams running
nearby. I thought this one looked particularly nice.
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Ah, the REAL reason to go camping -- toasting marshmallows
for s'mores!
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The next day, we packed a picnic and headed up to Vernal
Falls. The girls were getting along particularly well
this trip, and they tend to be good traveling companions.
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A timed photo near Vernal Falls.
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Vernal Falls
I just love waterfalls, and this is one of my favorites.
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Another timed shot, taken by a cooperative rock.
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Tessala loves rock-hopping, and we all spent some time
with the water rushing all around us.
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Tessala likes to pose, and I like to take pictures.
We're very compatible that way.
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A favorite spot of the girls'.
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The Devil Squirrel
We believe this squirrel was sent to spy on us by a
powerful group of trees on the other side of the river.
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We were also being followed by this deer, which pretended
to graze when we spotted it.
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The campsites in Yosemite aren't really all that nice.
They're a bit overused, and not much grows there, but
it's better to save the nicer places for hiking, anyway.
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North Dome and the Great Arch. Arches are caused by
water melting and freezing over hundreds of years, which
eventually causes huge slabs of granite to come crashing
down to the valley floor. Underneath this arch is an
enormous pile of rubble from eons of this kind of erosion,
and particularly unlucky visitors have been struck and
even killed by rock falls.
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On our final day, we paid a last visit to Yosemite Falls.
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On a whim, we decided to climb up a crag in the rock
face to the right of the falls.
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It was steep but doable, and felt safe because we had
this big crack to work with. (Watch out for falling
rocks, and remember your lucky toy tiger!)
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This is where we stopped and had a bite for lunch.
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Besides lunch, we were also rewarded with this spectacular
view of the valley.
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Climbing back down. Alina was so funny, because she
was kind of afraid, but she loved climbing all the same.
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Alina was really into some book she was reading, and
kept asking if we could stop awhile so she could read
some more. I was also reading "Harry Potter" to the
girls on this trip, as I recall, and I was into it as
much as they were!
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This was quite something. A waterfall that was so thin
that it was jut blowing off the rock in a mist. Almost
nothing of it managed to trickle down at the base --
it just sort of evaporated in the wind.
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Bridal Veil Falls over the Merced River.
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El Capitan
That's one hunk of rock! Some of the most amazing sights
in Yosemite are only visible from the road going in
and out of the valley, and the girls and I weren't brave
enough to take it on our bikes and inline skates, so
we had to stop the car instead to take some pictures
on the way out. (DAD!! Not AGAIN!!)