Yosemite & a May Full Moon

Yosemite or Lake Tahoe? With 2 weeks left of a 3 month sub job, I knew I wanted to go somewhere beautiful as soon as the job ended, and before most kids were out of school and the hordes descended upon the parks. But where? I had been to Tahoe in September and wanted to go back while there was still some snow, but I hadn't been to Yosemite in 30+ years. I chose Yosemite because it seemed like more of an adventure, but when I searched online for a room, none were available. I had waited too long. What to do?

Wait a little longer. Two weeks later, on Saturday, I found a room at Cedar Lodge which is just a few miles outside the entrance to the park. Perfect. I booked the room for two nights, packed, and left the next morning.

I got to the park at 10:30am. I wanted to use this day for reconnaissance, so I drove all the way in, past the turn to Bridalveil Falls, around Curry Village, and into Yosemite Village. I could not believe the number of people. I figured it was crowded because it was a Sunday. Most of these people would be heading home and I'd have the park practically to myself on Monday and Tuesday.

I was so naive.

Early Monday morning I arrived at the park with the intent of spending most of the day on my feet, instead of in my car. I headed straight to Curry Village, which was the closest I could park to the trail head to Mirror Lake. I found a primo parking space, grabbed my camera gear, and caught the shuttle to the trail head. Ah, it felt so good to be really in the park and away from the crowds. The trail was a well marked, rocky path through the forest that eventually opened to a huge meadow surrounded by high granite cliffs that were reflected in the lake.

I was not alone.

As I approached the trail head to catch the shuttle back to my car, I passed at least 50 people just starting out on the same hike. I was very glad I had made an early start. Back at my car, I saw there were just as many people in the park as yesterday, maybe even more. I left my car where it was and took the shuttle to the visitor center, which was the start of a self-guided walk across Cook's Meadow in the center of the valley floor. I saw the same beautiful vistas, but from a different, less crowded perspective. This photo shows both upper and lower Yosemite Falls.

Wondering on foot allowed a glimpse of a more intimate landscape.

While walking through the meadow, I imagined what the park was like before it became over-developed, auto-clogged, and tourist-congested. With all the rain this winter, the meadow water provided beautiful reflections.

By the end of the afternoon, I was glad to ride the shuttle back to my car, but I wasn't finished with the park quite yet. The road in/out parallels the Merced River and I had previously passed up many scenic spots in my quest to get into the park. On this ride out, I stopped numerous times to photograph and enjoy the river scenery...

and take a self-portrait.
(Did I mention that it rained most of this day?)

The full moon was only two days away, but since the forecast was for rain the rest of the week, I didn't think I'd have an opportunity to photograph it this month. I drove back to Cedar Lodge thinking I would not be returning to the park. Then as I was eating dinner, the sky completely cleared, not a cloud to be seen. I was tired, and debated whether shooting the full (almost) moon at Yosemite was worth the drive back to the park. I decided it was, quickly wrapped the rest of my meal in a napkin, climbed in my car, and drove a bit too fast back into the park and up to Tunnel View. This point provides a classic view of Yosemite Valley, including El Capitan, Half Dome, Sentinel Rock, Cathedral Rocks and Bridalveil Falls. The look-out was lined with photographers waiting for a beautiful sunset. When the light on the cliffs faded to gray, the pros expressed disappointment (at the lack of a spectacular sunset), packed their big lenses away, collapsed their tripods, and left the scene. I stayed put.

One of the last ones to leave turned to me and said, "Show's over for the night." I said, "Not if you know where to look," and I pointed up at the moon just cresting over the hill. I was ecstatic. My year-long full moon project was still on track.

Some thoughts on Yosemite:
The whole of the park is huge, but the valley that has all the iconic views of granite cliffs and falls is only 7 miles long and less than a mile wide. This small area has to accommodate millions of visitors.
Every visitor has a camera. What would Ansel Adams think if he saw someone whip out a cell phone to take a picture of Yosemite Falls? He had to pack hundreds of pounds of camera equipment.
When I got on the shuttle bus to return to my car, a young woman immediately popped up and offered me her seat. I was appalled. Did she think I was elderly?