Travel – Page 22 – 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.

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

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.

“Hope never abandons you; you abandon it. ” ~George Weinberg

April 29, 2010June 13, 2014Posted in California, Landscapes, Nature, Photography, TravelTagged Big Sur, California Coast, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, McWay Falls, San Jose California Nature Photographer, Seascapes, Travel and Tourism6 Comments

“Hope never abandons you; you abandon it. ” ~George Weinberg, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004.

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

Big Sur
McWay Falls
Sunset
Pacific Ocean

McWay Fall
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
Big Sur
California
Pacific Ocean
Lagoon

For the history buffs:
After passing through the specially constructed pedestrian underpass, the overlook trail comes out onto the face of a steep bluff about 100 feet above the ocean. The view includes a large sweep of ocean, miles of the Big Sur coastline, and looks directly down into McWay Cove, where a delightful little water-fall drops 80 feet from the granite cliffs. Prior to 1983, it fell directly into the sea, but a major landslide a half-mile north of the cove deposited so much sediment in McWay Cove the the waterfall now lands on a sandy beach. The “new” beach is not open to the public because the surrounding cliffs are extremely unstable.

Nikon D300s| AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm| Tripod

Horse Tail Fall Sunset

February 20, 2010February 20, 2010Posted in California, TravelTagged Forest, Snow, Sunset, Trees, YosemiteLeave a comment

I got up at 2am on the 18th and left the house at 3:15Am to drive to Gilroy to meet-up with 4 other photographers. At 4am we left Gilroy to meet-up with 2 other photographers in Mariposa,CA before heading into the Yosemite Valley where we would meet 5 more photographers from the north side of the Bay Area.

The trip revolved around a sunset shoot of Horse Tail Fall. The sun sets on Horse Tail Fall twice in 2010 for a few days in Feb. and again in Oct. The peak day for the best sunset was supposed to the 18th.

We shot all through the valley, had a picnic lunch at Bridalveil Fall, and well before sunset got to a spot to set up. Our spot was off Southside Drive just past Cathedral Beach picnic grounds.

I had a lot of fun and met some pretty neat people. We left the valley about 7:30PM and stopped for dinner in Mariposa. I didn’t get home until after midnight on the 19th. It was a 22 hour day filled with stunning views, and the company of fun, good people.

The light spot on the face of the mountain is the sun setting on Horse Tail Fall. The Fall wasn’t running very fast or full on this day.