Notes on the Geography of The Western United States: Yosemite Valley, Spring 2017Are there places that you decide never to visit again? Yosemite Valley may just make the list. You probably know why. Make default image size smaller ![]() The classic view, from the parking lot at the east end of the Wawona Tunnel. Bridalveil Falls is in spate; paradoxically, drought (and bark beetles) have stressed and killed parts of the forest. ![]() Bridalveil is this full only briefly and then only after winters with unusually heavy snowfalls. The winter of 2016-17 qualified. ![]() Ephemeral falls were busy, including this one, Sentinel Falls. ![]() Another, Ribbon Fall. ![]() An unnamed trickle. ![]() Another iconic view, this time of Half Dome from Glacier Point but hinting at the snowpack along the Sierra crest. ![]() The camera has turned only slightly to the right to reveal Nevada Fall, Vernal Fall, and the melting snow above. ![]() This is the start of the Merced River. ![]() It doesn't live up to its name. ![]() A victim. ![]() Across the valley, Yosemite Falls (on Yosemite Creek) were as full as they get. ![]() Large parts of the valley floor were correspondingly flooded. ![]() A wet edge. ![]() We're looking for something. ![]() See 'em (at least two)? ![]() Power of the zoom. ![]() Nothing to it, or so they said once they were back down. ![]() For most visitors, this would do: it's the route up to Vernal Fall. ![]() This time of year the path is very wet, but what really bubbles up when you look at this? Why, an Ingmar Bergman movie, of course. It's not a comedy. ![]() Kids come from thousands of miles away and leave their own ephemeral trace. ![]() How do we, in congress assembled, cope with the crowds? Answer: we let private enterprise "operate" the park. ![]() What would the park's first guardian think of this? (The stone is in the small Yosemite cemetery, near a museum that lies low and attracts as little attention as it can.) ![]() What would they think of it? You know who I mean: you see them standing on that overhang. (Without looking, can you remember whether John or Teddy was closer to the lip? I can't, but my guess is T.R.) ![]() Maybe we're better now than we used to be. Chris Brown no longer dresses up in owl and turkey feathers, no longer does a little dance of his devising. It was a little scary for kids; I don't remember him offering any comforting words in English. Brown, who served in the U.S. Army in WW II and who performed as Chief Lemee, died in 1953. ![]() What would he make of the crowds in the park today? ![]() We can talk about it over a campfire. Trouble is, we have to buy the firewood, and we wouldn't dream of using the dying local trees. We buy wood that comes certified as compliant with a hundred rules. ![]() Meanwhile, the dying forest is hauled off to sawmills. ![]() Still and still: it's a treasure. |
* Argentina * Australia * Austria * Bangladesh * Belgium * Botswana * Brazil * Burma / Myanmar * Cambodia (Angkor) * Canada (B.C.) * China * The Czech Republic * Egypt * Fiji * France * Germany * Ghana * Greece * Guyana * Hungary * India: Themes * Northern India * Peninsular India * Indonesia * Israel * Italy * Japan * Jerusalem * Jordan * Kenya * Laos * Kosovo * Malawi * Malaysia * Mauritius * Mexico * Micronesia (Pohnpei) * Morocco * Mozambique * Namibia * The Netherlands * New Zealand * Nigeria * Norway * Oman * Pakistan * Peru * The Philippines * Poland * Portugal * Romania (Transylvania) * Senegal * Singapore * South Africa * South Korea * Spain * Sri Lanka * Sudan * Syria (Aleppo) * Tanzania * Thailand * Trinidad * Turkey (Istanbul) * Uganda * The U.A.E. (Dubai) * The United Kingdom * The Eastern United States * The Western United States * Oklahoma * Uruguay * Uzbekistan * Vietnam * The West Bank * Yemen * Zambia * Zimbabwe *