California – Page 49 – Circadianreflections Blog

Wawona Hotel

June 16, 2010June 16, 2010Posted in California, TravelTagged Sierras, Wawona, Wawona Hotel, YosemiteLeave a comment

Copyright © 2010 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
Wawona Hotel
Outside the Valley
Wawona means “Big Trees”
It was known to Native American Indians as Pallachun which meant ” a good place to stay.”

More photos from my Dave Wyman Yosemite Water-Works Workshop in May.
The Wawona Hotel built in 1875, is a beautiful white building with neatly trimmed grass, deck chairs, and a golf course. There are several cottage like and dorm type buildings that house the guest rooms and each building has a lovely veranda kitted out with wicker tables and deck chairs.

There is a stone fountain out front that is falling apart now, but once must have been lovely. We stopped here on the way back to Yosemite Valley for dinner and night shooting after spending a little while at the swinging bridge. We were headed to the Mariposa Grove with the Giant Sequoia trees but it was closed due to snow. I’d like to stay here someday.

Nearby there is an a living museum – The Pioneer History Center which is said to transport you back in time to the late 1800’s. There is a New England style covered bridge, a collection of stage coaches, and in the summer the staff wear Victorian costumes. It was closed for winter when we passed it. I’d like to spend some time there too.

My twice weekly morning constitution

June 14, 2010June 14, 2010Posted in California, hikesTagged Cupertino CA;2 Comments

I’ve been hiking up the “Steep Hill” twice a week in preparation for an upcoming July hiking trip.

The grade of the Steep Hill is more than 11% at its steepest. 11% the rest the way from what I can find on the web.

Once at the top if you continue on there are two more hills which by comparison are not steep at all, but brutal after the initial climb up . After that the trail flattens out and then descends. It’s quite a workout for a short 2.5 mile hike.

Here are some photos of the Steep Hill and one of the Mt. Umunhum taken while on my way up The Steep Hill recently.

The beginning of the trail and The Steep Hill

Almost halfway up the Steep Hill

Catching my breath, and enjoying the golden grass and blue sky.

Mt. Umunhum shrouded in morning clouds. View from The Steep Hill

June Lake

June 10, 2010June 10, 2010Posted in California, Nikon, Travel, UncategorizedTagged Eastern Sierras, LakesLeave a comment

June Lake, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004/.

On my first full day along the Hwy 395 corridor after sunrise a girlfriend and I headed north. We wanted to see Devil’s Postpiles but discovered they were still buried under snow so closed. At the Mammoth Lake Visitors Center we picked up tips on where the most scenic places were.
The Ranger suggested June, Gull, Silver, Convict, and Rocky Creek Lakes as well as Hot Creek Geological Site, and of course Mono Lake.

This wasn’t too crowded. The water was just a gorgeous shade of blue. More aqua than blue. The snow capped mountains ringing the lake was just as lovely.

More lake photos to follow as I visited 4 lakes on Sat. June 5th.

Nikon D300s
Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8 AF-S
PP- Recovery slider, vibrance, clarity, resized

In Cook’s Meadow

June 3, 2010June 3, 2010Posted in CaliforniaTagged landscape, Nikon, Sunset, Yosemite National Park7 Comments

After an already great day in and out of Yosemite Valley we went to Cook’s meadow to try and get Half Dome lit up at sunset.

When I arrived down in the meadow after scaling a fallen tree, and crossing a little creek, and walking along the boggy grass to a nice spot with a great view of Half Dome it was covered in clouds. We all hoped the wind would shift and clear out the clouds before the sun set.

The top of the mountain was “hot” so I put on my 2 stop soft edge Singh-Ray Grad ND filter. It really didn’t help enough so I fooled around with different apertures-stopping it down and it was still too “hot’. So I took off the the 2 stop and put on my 3 Stop Hard Edge Grad ND filter. That did the trick! After awhile I was blessed with this shot. It was a fantastic birthday!

This is how Half Dome looked when I first got down in Cook’s Meadow.

Yosemite National Park

California

Sierra Mountains

Nikon D300s, Nikkor 17-35mm f2.8 AF-S

At a Yosemite Rest-Stop

May 17, 2010May 17, 2010Posted in California, TravelTagged Waterfalls, YosemiteLeave a comment

Here are a few more photos from my Dave Wyman Workshop. These are more from day 2 our first full day of being together. May 11, 2010

We were 18 all together. I had a great time. The views were stunning. I hope you are able to feel and see some of that through my viewfinder.

A Point Lobos Day

May 9, 2010May 9, 2010Posted in CaliforniaTagged California, Coastal Views, hikes, Landmarks, WildlifeLeave a comment

I went to Point Lobos with a Meet-up friend. We hiked around the perimeter of the park taking the North Shore Trail. We ended our day here after 5 hours of hiking at Bird Island.

We saw sea lions, otters, Cormorants, gulls of all types, a Black-crowned Night Heron, and wonderful seascapes.

We had hoped to get a nice sunset set from Bixby Bridge but the sun wasn’t setting there exactly so we moved further north to Rocky Point. We had a lovely dinner in the restaurant. Unfortunately the fog bank rolled in and marred the sunset, but did not dampen the mood or ruin the day in any way.

Here are a few shots from the day.

Nikon D300s with Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8 AF-S

Nikon D90 with Nikkor 70-300mm VR AF-S

Dawn

May 7, 2010May 7, 2010Posted in CaliforniaTagged California, Coastal Views, Landmarks, Pescadero CA, SunriseLeave a comment

This shot was taken in Pescadero, California just before the sun crested the Santa Cruz mountains. I’m standing in a mustard field in front of Pigeon Point Light Station. There was poison oak all over the place here. It’s a good thing I’m not allergic to it.

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