Yosemite day trip- Vernal falls

The day trip was to see the Firefalls... but before we got to that, we spent the day hiking Vernal falls (as far as we could go safely)..

As long as this girl is next to me.. I seem to be going places.. at least one place a week! 

We saw some amazing landscapes on the way! Here is the day in pictures.. mostly selfies! We started early and were at the park by 9AM.. we took our time taking photos at every vista point...

walking on snow is easier than walking on ice.. especially when it is patchy and you cannot see it! we were all slipping and sliding during many a stretch..

so far it was mostly selfies.. then it got tricky enough that we gave our phones to others to keep the line going and the pictures coming..

There are plenty of nature shots..will post them separately..

Firefalls viewing at Yosemite - a breathtaking experience

Our hiking group has long longed for a trip to Yosemite to see the Firefalls. For those of you not familiar with this, the Horsetail falls in Yosemite gets frozen and when the setting sun falls on this ice and mist, for a few minutes, the falls glows like lava and is called the Firefalls.  It happens over a 15-20 day window in February when most of the other park trails are closed because of ice. It is also a luck of the draw as it has to have rained the previous day and there should be no clouds in the path of the sun on the actual day. 

Many of our friends have made multiple attempts and are yet to see the firefalls.. we took our chances this year and were not disappointed.. we spent a day hiking partly up to Vernal falls till the ice made it too risky for us. Had a nice packed lunch.. then rushed to watch the display that nature put on for us! THis photo is from an iPhone 11 with some editing..

Here are five shots taken with the SLR as the sun went down.. the first one is what the frozen falls looks like before the magic begins..

These pictures don't do justice to what our eyes saw.. every pocket of ice reflects the sun like a diamond and the whole thing shimmers as the sun moves.. something that has to be seen live to experience!

There is also an iPhone photo for comparison that was taking toward the end. The iPhone automatically edits the photo.. for all I know, Apple knowing my location, is running some AI to make the falls look better.. 

and a selfie of a beaming me capturing this..

We took a lot of "Firefies"...

Will do a separate posts on our hike to Vernal falls with pictures!

This whole event lasts 4 to 12 mintues depending on when you go, if you get lucky! For us it was closer to 12 minutes and we got an amazing light show! The previous day was only 4 minute window, per the ranger we spoke to.

Advice to folks who are not pro photographers trying to get a shot.. go an hour early with some blankets and set up! It is a mile and a half walk on icy slippery roads. So expect that to take some time. By the time we got there 30 mintues before, there was no room to put a tripod. So I went behind the crowds into the bushy area and got cut up by thorns in my legs. Could have avoided that if we had been early. 

Also we were lucky that our dinner was in the car. So while a few thousand people all rushed to the parking lots and tried to drive out and gridlocked the whole place, we calmly ate our dinner and then drove out. From 5AM to 11PM, it was a day trip. It was tiring but exhilarating!

This one gets checked off the bucket list!

More in the next post..

Mission peak on a cloudy day

It was announced to me late last evening that we will be going to Mission peak in the morning.

So... I went!

The yoga had to be pushed to evening and my "live" singing plan took a nose dive. However, was glad I went because it was really beautiful outside! Mission peak seemed very different. It was alive! There was water in marshy ponds! Ducks and cows and baby baby cutie calf walking around.. songbirds everywhere! The skies were putting on a show and given we started hiking before 7AM, the diffuse sunlight made for great pictures!

Was treated to some nice chai, once we reached the top! That was the other highlight of the hike!

We also took a few detours today to go some other trails on the way that we never explored before. We were treated to some amazing views .. and I got the park bench photos again.. 

Timing is everything.. going forward, going to hike this peak in late Jan, right after it rains.. 

Felt on top of the world this morning.. (and again this evening after doing a Bikram Yoga class! The rest of the group didn't have to do that.. so it was a challenge for me.. but I am actually feeling great now after all that exercise in one day)

and for some nature pics and panos..

the rolling fog made the pictures even more interesting..

the same water we passed on the way in.. but on the way out.. there were cows..and glorious clouds!

The cows made it interesting today as well..

A day well spent...

Now family willing... some mic time!