Salute to Ansel Adams

I was up at Yosemite earlier this week on a gray day, and it occurred to me that it would be a good time to salute one of the iconic Yosemite photographers of the 20th century, Ansel Adams.  He started shooting pics here as a young man in the 1920s and 30s, and favored black and white...to a large extent, even after color photography became common.  Here's a shot of Yosemite Falls.

Half Dome, with clouds grazing its summit.

The Merced River, running high with snowmelt.  I was staying right next to the river just outside the park and it was roaring like a jet engine!

Yosemite Creek, just below the falls.  With the massive snowmelt, water was running through the woods everywhere in the valley, flooding the meadows, cascading down the cliffs.  The drought is over here!

Lower Yosemite Falls raging!

There were still snowfields near the base of the falls on April 24.  It's much cooler there due to the spray from the icy water.

The upper and lower falls from the trail.  This pic was taken about a quarter mile from the last one.

This tree fell across a branch of the Merced River at Happy Isles in 1996 as a result of a large rockslide on the cliff beyond.  The falling rocks created a compression wave that flattened an area of trees at the bottom of the cliff. As a result, all the downed trees in the area point in the same direction, away from the cliff. 

Ponderosa pine bark.

Granite cliffs above the Ahwanee, streaked with moisture trickling down the rock.

Santa Cruz Island Adventure

Last week I took a boat from Ventura out to Santa Cruz Island, in Channel Islands National Park.  For at least 50 years I had seen the Channel Islands on the Rand McNally and thought that it would be neat to go out there.  For about 30 years I have lived within a days drive of Ventura.  But this was the first time I actually got on the boat and crossed about 15 miles of ocean to visit the island!  The boat ride was as interesting as exploring the island...in both directions we saw numerous humpback whales and cruised through dozens of dolphins...at least fifty.  They're a bit tricky to catch on film but here's a couple accompanying our boat...blow up the pic for better detail.

A large offshore oil rig between the mainland and the Channel Islands.

Approaching Santa Cruz Island...green from the winter rains.

The island...and others in the archipelago...are national park land now, but for well over a century, ranching was practiced.  This is Scorpion Ranch, on the eastern end of Santa Cruz.  Sheep ranching here went on until 1990.  Other than a few ranch homes, there is NO development on the islands.  You can camp, but there are no lodges, restaurants, or paved roads...no modcons.  It's like Southern California was 200 years ago.  Spend a few hours on the island and you gradually settle into the peaceful, pastoral vibe.  Very nice.

There are numerous species here that have evolved uniquely due to the geographical isolation of the islands, which have been separated from the California mainland for at least hundreds of thousands of years.  The strait between the lands was narrower during the Ice Age, when sea level was several hundred feet lower, so some animals could swim across, but they evolved within their limited environment.  This is the local fox, who is about the size of a house cat.  They bludge for food in the campground, or filch it if the campers leave it out, but the park folks want you to make them seek out food on their own as they would naturally do.

Blooming coreopsis overlooking the sea.

Much of the shoreline of Santa Cruz consists of towering cliffs.  It was somewhat hazy on this day, but you could still see the outline of Anacapa Island in the distance.  The buildings visible in the pic are housing for park employees.

Santa Cruz Island coastline on a tranquil day.

The interior of the island consists of grassy prairies interspersed with oaks; there are pines here and there.  The island is being allowed to revegetate after many decades of sheep grazing.

The dark areas in the water are kelp forests.  The waters around the Channel Islands are popular scuba diving locations.  You can also paddle sea kayaks to caves in the cliffs.

Nebraska?  No...Santa Cruz Island.  The prairie meets the sky.

A good pic of a congenial fox.  I was munching an orange and got his attention.

On the way home, in addition to dolphins and whales, we passed a mako shark.  This is not a very good look, but it's the best pic I got.

A humpback seconds after spouting.

Dolphins cruisin'.

Pelicans chillin' at the entrance to Ventura Harbor.  End of a fine day.

Cali Blossoms

Driving through Southern California last week, the desert was in full bloom...a little later than the Arizona timetable as the winter and early spring were somewhat cooler and wetter in Cali than farther east.  Here, near Desert Hot Springs, the brittlebush was still in full bloom under the snowcapped Mt San Gorgonio.

Claret cup cactus grow at elevations of 3-4 thousand feet in Joshua Tree NP.  Very showy!

Lenticular clouds above the joshuas.

JTNP rocks...always cool.

Lupines.

The numbah one claret cup!

Rocks, pinyon pines, and lennies.  Pleasantly surreal.

Not brilliant, but there was a carpet of goldfields among the joshua trees.

Wallace wooly daisies, according to my flower chart.  Only a couple inches high.

A teddy bear cholla cactus gets showy.  Caution is advised when shooting a closeup.

Mammatus clouds on a balmy morning in Twentynine Palms.  Looking east.

Looking west, lennies loom over carpets of desert dandelions.

A desert lily.  These don't bloom every year...it has to be fairly wet.  No problem in 2017!  There were many of them in this area, perhaps 20 miles east of 29 Palms.

Desert datura.  These plants are poisonous but, in measured doses, have been used as hallucinogens.

This pic was actually taken across the border at a rest area in Arizona.  A fine blooming paloverde with neat clouds.

Phoenix Blooming

I did a hike in the northern part of the city of Phoenix earlier this week.  There is still a lot of open space up there, about 15 miles north of downtown, and the city has created a lot of fine parkland, with hiking and biking trails through the desert.  Phoenix had a very warm March, so most of the wildflowers are done, but the cactus are ahead of schedule and are blooming beautifully.  These flowers are from a buckhorn cholla.

Hedgehog cacti produce a showy magenta bloom.

Buckhorn blooming profusely.

Don't know what these yellow blooms are.

Ocotillo in full color.

Indigo plant

Burgeoning blooms on a patch of teddy bear cholla.  Use caution when photographing these!

There were still a few poppies in shady areas.

Desert landscape.  

I hiked through an area where the rocks were almost a dark magenta color.

Blow this pic up and you'll see a family of owls in the saguaro.  There was Mama Owl, with three owlets.

A vast, flashy buckhorn cholla.

Paloverde in full bloom against the desert sky.

I believe this is called a desert marigold.

Verde crawling in the cholla.

Lizard was a bit heavy for the cholla...maybe he's been stealing some of my kettle chips!  He hung out in a fishhook barrel instead.

This patch of pincushion cactus will produce pretty blooms, mainly white, in a couple weeks.