I’ve been eager to share this park for almost a year but hesitated, feeling that to do it justice required serious amounts of research. Determined to get started, I reviewed my photos and happily discovered everything necessary to appreciate it is already there. Here’s a glimpse of the park landscape. The Colonel’s house is the … Continue reading Allensworth: Establishing Roots
Yosemite
Roadside Art: Chalk Art “Half Dome”
Technically this isn't "roadside" art, but it is art, and it is on the road, so there. (Yes, I'm about nine years old emotionally today. Whaddaya gonna do about it, huh? Yeah, well, make me.) The annual Pasadena Chalk Art festival featured "Half Dome" by Jenson Castro in 2016: So there!
Dewey Death-imal System
Do you love cemeteries? I do. Peaceful. Clean. Organized. The people in neat rows, like checked boxes on a To-Do list. Except, sometimes they are not so organized... (At the orderly cemetery pictured above, it took me at least fifteen minutes to find who I was looking for, even with the help of a map.) Speaking of maps, … Continue reading Dewey Death-imal System
Starry Night Skies Over Yosemite
Going to Yosemite soon? I highly recommend the "Starry Night Skies over Yosemite" program: http://www.travelyosemite.com/things-to-do/evening-programs I see they now have a Glacier Point program available since I went last. I've long meant to write more about the starwatching, a "part two" to this post, a "pro" to the parking "con." Anyone want to place a bet on whether I … Continue reading Starry Night Skies Over Yosemite
Wednesday Words on the Wild: Holograms
By definition, our national parks in all their particularity and peculiarity show us as much about ourselves as the landscapes they honor and protect. They can be seen as holograms of an America born of shadow and light; dimensional; full of contradictions and complexities. Our dreams, our generosities, our cruelties and crimes are absorbed into … Continue reading Wednesday Words on the Wild: Holograms
Book Review: Celestial Yosemite
If you are a fan of stargazing, do yourself a favor and check out Kristal Leonard's Yosemite night sky photography, either via her book Celestial Yosemite, or her blog: http://www.isntthatbeautiful.com/ Although the book is slight, it reads like a stargazing hors d-oeuvres, just enough to both curb and whet your appetite, satisfying you and leaving you wanting … Continue reading Book Review: Celestial Yosemite
Wednesday Words on the Wild: Rivers
We have an unknown distance yet to run, an unknown river to explore. What falls there are, we know not; what rocks beset the channel, we know not; what walls ride over the river, we know not. Ah, well! we may conjecture many things. ~ John Wesley Powell The river is constantly turning and bending and you … Continue reading Wednesday Words on the Wild: Rivers
Yosemite Park(ing Lot)
While visiting Yosemite last summer, finding a free parking space outside Half Dome Village required a hunt of over an hour. I circled the same aisles dozens - hundreds? - of times. Having risen before dawn and driven five hours to get to the park, I seriously considered turning around and heading home. The purpose of the trip? Realize some small measure of … Continue reading Yosemite Park(ing Lot)
Campfire Tales 