Saturday, June 18, 2011

Yosemite in Flood

A snowy winter and a cold, wet spring have delayed the runoff to unusually late in the year in most western mountains. In Yosemite, the waterfalls are blasting at levels seen only one or two years each decade. The roar of Yosemite Falls echoes across the valley into the mountains beyond.

I hiked the Panorama Trail from Glacier Point down to Ililouette Creek, just above the falls of the same name. I overextended a bit...the hike descends 1400 feet in a little over two miles...at over a mile above sea level...and I knew the climb back up would be seriously hard...which it was...but having been on the trail about 15 years before, I knew the hike was worth the effort. Here's a view of Half Dome with Nevada Falls...on the upper right...and Vernal Falls...lower and to the left. The Mist Trail...which ascends just to the right of Vernal...must have been really really wet yesterday!


Eventually, hiking down from Glacier Point, I reached the top of Ililouette Falls, a wall of water plunging into the canyon.


The water that goes over all those falls eventually winds up in the Merced River down in the valley. Needless to say, it's flooding; not seriously, but enough to close some boardwalks.


Farther down the Merced, the river roars by, now fed by the slamming waters of Bridalveil Falls. El Capitan stands sentinel in the distance.

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

More Irish Scenes

In this set of pix I've included some surreal natural scenes; some historic shots; modern pix; and some others. Ireland is really a diverse place with an abundance of natural beauty, historic sites, and modern energy, sometimes whimsical and fun loving. This is another basalt shot at Giants Causeway in Ulster. In the western US there is a lot of columnar basalt, but you usually see it in full column form, from below. Here you walk on the top of the columns...a different perspective.


A good shot of the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge...yes, I did go across.



Guinness is good for you! I had about a pint a day whilst in Ireland, and I actually did have a bit more spring in my step!




One of the old city gates through the walls into Derry. The walls are almost 400 years old.




And, just a couple blocks away, a shining new pedestrian bridge is being built over the River Foyle. It's very similar in design to the Sundial Bridge in Redding...probably built by the same architect.




Roaring Meg, still sitting on the Derry walls after over 300 years. Though the civil strife of the Troubles has been pretty much over for at least 20 years, for some reason Roaring Meg is pointed right at...Bogside, site of Bloody Sunday at the height of the Troubles in 1972. Is this a coincidence??



Roaring Meg was cast in 1642, as the inscription shows. It was shipped from London to Derry for civil defense, and was used seriously in the 1689 siege.



The grave of William Butler Yeats, one of Ireland's foremost poets and playwrights in the early 20th century. It's just north of Sligo town; he loved the county and spent much of his life here.



Salthill, a seaside suburb of Galway. Ominous clouds in the background.



Towering cumulus loom above Galway cathedral. This cathedral is perhaps most notable for NOT being centuries old...in fact, it was built in the middle of the 20th century, completed only in 1965!


Thursday, June 02, 2011

More Ireland

I'm home from Ireland, but was lazy the last few days there and didn't blog. In Northern Ireland I went to a couple major tourist spots. One was Giants' Causeway, a promontory of columnar basalt extending into the North Atlantic. It's quite cool...the columns are a bit surrealistic. I've seen this stuff before in all three west coast states, but it's always interesting.

Just east of Giants' Causeway is Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. It was originally constructed to provide access to an island used for fishing by the locals, but is now almost exclusively a tourist attraction. My friend Wendy would love it...she has acrophilia, a love of heights. The bridge is roughly 100 feet above the ocean.


This is a street sign in Derry. The odd name derives from the fact that this section of Bishop Street is within the city walls, constructed about 400 years ago. The section of Bishop St outside the walls is named Bishop Street Without.


Sligo, a pleasant city in northwestern Ireland. There is a nice riverwalk in the heart of town.


I finished my trip in Galway. The central city is teeming with energy...there are tons of shops, restaurants, and pubs...great grazing and bar hopping! It's a college town and there are many young people, who together with the tourists give the city a fine cosmopolitan air. Great place!