Santa Ynez Valley

Santa Ynez Valley
Our Backyard

Monday, December 29, 2014

Early Work

Over the past few days, we have been sifting through old photographic prints and slides.  Most items ended up getting tossed, but we scanned into digital form all those we wished to keep.  Here are a few scans of slides, some going back about 40 years.


Backlit Iceland Poppy



Masonry at Chaco Canyon



The "Lost Arrow" next to Yosemite Falls



Yosemite Falls in winter



Dead trees in a Yellowstone geyser basin



Hayden Valley in Yellowstone



Old Faithful Geyser



Poppies and Lupine on Figueroa Mountain



Santa Barbara Harbor at sunset



Thursday, October 30, 2014

Yosemite Valley

Being late in the fall season, there were far fewer people in the Yosemite Valley and there was available space in the campgrounds that were still open.  It had been many years since we had spent time in the Yosemite Valley in the fall.  We were surprised at how late the color change was this year. 


This somewhat blurry shot taken out through the Jeep's windshield is an attempt to convey the fall color at the lower end of the valley floor.



Fern Spring


The drought has reduced Bridalveil Fall to a trickle ...


... and totally dried up Yosemite Falls.



A few different perspectives of El Capitan





Another Merced River reflection



From our campsite, we could look up to Glacier Point 3,200 feet above us.



After driving up to Glacier Point, we discovered that we could spot our Lazy Daze motorhome in the campground.



As always, the view from Glacier Point is spectacular.
Note the complete lack of snow in the high country.



To our imaginations, this view of Half Dome from Olmstead Point looks like a baby eagle.



When coming back to the valley from Glacier Point, the sun was getting very low in the sky.




Half Dome in sunset light


Tuolumne Meadows

After spending a few days in the Bridgeport and Lee Vining areas, we crossed the very dry Sierra Nevada Mountains, taking highway 120 over Tioga Pass.  On a beautiful fall day we stopped at Tuolumne Meadows to capture a few images.






A little later and further down the road, we stopped at Tenaya Lake for lunch.


Saturday, October 25, 2014

Sierra Fall Color and Bodie Ghost Town

In mid October we took the motorhome to Sparks, Nevada for a family reunion.  After the reunion, we came down US-395 to see if we could find any late season fall color.  We spent a few nights at an RV park on the Bridgeport Reservoir.


One day we drove up to Twin Lakes, southwest of Bridgeport.  While most of the trees had lost their fall color leaves, we were still able to find some color.






The next day we took the back road to Bodie State Historical Park through the Masonic mining district.

On Masonic Road looking back to the Sierra Nevadas
 


Chemung Mine Mill
 


Pockets of fall color in the Bodie Hills
 








Approaching Bodie ghost town



Bodie Church







The Standard Mill ran its loud stamp mills 24 hours a day, seven days a week.








In Aurora Canyon near Bridgeport