Yosemite Falls
We hiked over to Yosemite Falls in the late morning. It's only a very short walk from our room, so we figured we had to walk over to see it at least once. Predictably, there were lots of people at the falls and in the river. Most years, you can't even stand on the bridge over the river without getting soaked. But his year, there were people climbing around the rocks way up the canyon near the base of the falls. This is going to be a very scary year for water in California. I'm afraid there is going to be some severe water rationing this summer.
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Swinging Bridge
In the late afternoon, we hiked over to Swinging Bridge to photograph Yosemite Falls over the Merced River. It was a short hike across a meadow and over to the bridge. When we arrived, there were people everywhere in the river trying to get cool. It was a zoo. And that was without all the rafters and tubers floating down the river. Most years, it would be much too dangerous to be in the river at all this week in June. But this year, the river is at levels more like August than June, and everyone is trying to escape the heat. The parking lots are packed for any area with access to a beach or the river. Most of the rest of the parking areas in the park are relatively empty for this time of year.
We had lots of entertainment watching the people of all ages and nationalities playing in the river. It's always fun to watch the kids, but the adults were just as entertaining today.
Our photographs from today will probably end up in the trash because we have much better images from this location. It's one of our favorites stops, so we photograph here on every trip. With a nearly cloudless sky today and such a low river level, the images today won't compare with those from previous trips.
When we returned to our room, Carol's hips were bothering her, so I drove around the Valley looking for things to photograph. Because it was after 6:00, the northern side of the Valley was completely in shade, so I returned to Valley View where we had shot earlier in the week.
I tried other stops on Southside Drive, but the lighting never worked. I continued around the Valley and joined the crowds at Tunnel View. About half of the people were photographing as sunset approached, and the other half were just sitting around with friends and family enjoying the evening. I set up my camera to shoot automatic time-lapse photos, but I spent most of the time talking to the people around me. I met a retired couple from Pittsburgh who were halfway through their 3-month trip, a retired high-school science teacher from a small, high-desert town in California, and a woman who has a cabin near Yosemite. We each had our own stories and favorite places to visit.
By 8:15, it was obvious there would be no sunset tonight, and everyone drifted away. It will be interesting to see how my time-lapse video turns out. Since sunset was a complete dud, it may be limited to a good chance to practice the techniques.
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