Yosemite- 1- The Valley

Yosemite! There was so much I had heard about this national park, sometimes from people who are passionate about the multiplicity of terrains that contribute to the making of this unique planet and sometimes from people who just want to get it off their bucket lists! The former are the kind that interest me. They do not talk about a place like this with one-liners that sound like- "We have seen all of those places- Yosemite, Niagara, Tahoe"!

It is hard for anyone to not be in awe of this expanse of land! Rugged, resolute, unforgiving, and yet gentle, subdued and tolerant.  On one hand are the gigantic faces of silent, solid granite that have stood there for millions of years, or waterfalls that roar down a cliff, there are the green meadows with rivulets and streams gushing down in dulcet tones or there are forests of conifers and other trees, that create quite an orchestra as the wind blows through them. There is so much to explore, a lifetime may fall short! A small slice of the park can be savored on short trips made by many visitors like myself. Depending on endurance levels, the park offers a myriad of activities. Easy, moderate and strenuous hikes are strewn across the area. I sometimes wish I had the means to visit when I was younger, it would have been an extraordinary experience! Not that this visit wasn't memorable, we still hiked a lot, and spectacular views made it a photographer's dream!

In Spring, all the waterfalls put on their best show with the weather warming up and the snow melting. Luckily for us, rainfall this year was good, there was enough snow and the waterfalls looked as white and pristine as ever cascading down the steep drops! This one below is the upper and lower Yosemite Falls together, from the point where the Yosemite Falls trail begins.

The Merced river sometimes flowing smoothly through the floor of the valley, or singing a song as it trips and falls over uneven terrain.

Parking your vehicle at a convenient location and going around the valley in the park shuttle is a very sensible thing to do. As we hopped from one stop to the next, taking our time at each stop to explore what it had to offer, lots of fascinating things caught my eye.
The hike to Mirror Lake was one such place. On the way, dead trees reminded me of mystery books I read as a child in which the protagonists would often leave clues to be found by their rescuers later... in hollows of tree trunks near a moss covered tree,

Or the grand old tree with a secret held at it's base!

Mirror Lake lived up to its name! The reflections were crystal clear!

The Happy Isles trail was an easy walk through the wilderness, very relaxing too!

On our ride on the park shuttle to our next stop at the Ahwahnee Hotel, I saw this structure that I found very intriguing. A short walk got us there. It used to sport a sign with the hotel name, which changed earlier this year because of a dispute. What an unfortunate occurrence! The hotel is now called Majestic Yosemite Hotel.

The hotel is grand! I loved the curios in their gift shop. 

The entrance to the hotel.

While we sipped some iced tea and some ice cream out in the courtyard of the hotel, a few of the visitors (me included) attempted to count the growth rings on this tree trunk.

Then we got back to our vehicle parked near the chapel. 

I end this post with a salute to John Muir and other environmentalists who had a vision and worked hard to preserve these habitats. Here is a sculpture of him at the Yosemite visitor center.

Lake Tahoe to Yosemite National Park

The night had brought a good amount of snow to the Sierra Nevada peaks.
Before leaving on a vacation, like many others, I like to do some ground work and get an idea of places to visit, must-see attractions and routes and alternatives. There are a couple of alternatives to get from Lake Tahoe to Yosemite National Park. The Tioga Pass or California State Route 120, is closed during winter and opens sometime in the month of May, depending on the amount of snow at that elevation. It is a scenic drive and cuts driving time by a couple of hours. If it is closed, the alternate route is via the towns of Jackson, San Andreas and Groveland which isn't a bad drive, but it takes longer. The overnight snow event that dumped a couple of feet on snow prompted park officials to close the Tioga Pass even if it had opened only three days earlier after the winter closure.

The car beeped when we started, telling us we were driving on a route that had snow on it. There was enough evidence that the area had gotten at least a dusting of snow, even if we saw none on the roads. The sun was shining brightly again!

Crisp blue waters of this lake greeted us as went around a bend on the road.

It was Caples Lake near the Kirkwood Mountain Resort. Snow drifted on the surface and it was chilly out there on the pull out on Carson Pass Highway.

We were soon passing through towns like Jackson and San Andreas. The second name reminded me of the major tectonic fault line that ran along the coast of California. The landscape was very different from the one to Mono Lake the previous day. For one, it was a little warmer, and there were no snow covered peaks in sight.

Google maps directs you to the shortest route and sometimes that takes you off highways and through the countryside. We drove past a nice ranch with an old barn on one such road.

An especially steep and narrow few miles of road called the Old Priest Grade was one such recommended by google to cut down on miles that the New Priest Grade had. This brought us to a nice town of Groveland.
As we drove along the winding roads towards the park, we saw the devastation the forest fire of 2013 had left behind. It will be a long while before the area recovers from that catastrophe that burned down several thousand acres.

Yosemite valley was never directly affected by the fire but the area around suffered significant damage.

And there it was! The sign that we had been waiting for!

As we paid the fee and got inside the park perimeter, there was a pullout and two barns in an open meadow nestled between the conifers.

There was a good deal of traffic but it was nowhere close to the huge crowds the valley sees after Memorial Day weekend. At one vista point, we got an idea of what the valley was like, or so we thought!
On the left in the picture below, you can see one of the many tunnels that we went through to eventually get to Bridal Veil Falls.

There was a light, steady drizzle by the time we got to the valley.

Our first glimpse of the Bridal Veil Falls!

It was very grey, and gloomy by this time. Our phones showed no service at all. Google maps wouldn't work, but it did show where we were on the map. That helped a lot!

On the way to our rental condo unit, this breathtaking Tunnel View lay stretched as long as the eye could see. The enormous granite peaks, pictures can never do justice to their magnitude! They have stood there through millions of years and have witnessed a good deal of what the earth has been through. In comparison, in terms of time, how insignificant is human life!

We managed to get to the condo we had rented and were barely done getting all our stuff from the car into the condo when the freezing rain began. In about half an hour, there was a generous dusting of snow on the ground. 

Mono Lake etcetera

Before leaving on vacation, I had been planning our schedule. A visit to Mono Lake was on the cards. Pictures of strange looking structures on the edge of the lake had me intrigued and I had to see them in person.
The day dawned with the sun shining brightly, but there was snow in the forecast later in the night. Only on the mountains, we were told, maybe an inch or two.
We set out at about 7 am and in less than 10 minutes, we were ascending up the mountain. The Sierra Nevada mountain range is truly imposing!

After about a hundred miles or more, there was a vista point that offered the first view of Mono Lake. A little haze in the sky didn't give a very clear picture, but it looked beautiful! Two islands, the larger Paoha and the darker, smaller Negit can be seen in the center.

Soon , we found ourselves at the west end of the lake at Mono Lake Park. A small drive off the highway led to a parking lot, and a boardwalk trail to the lake. It was here that I first heard the word Tufa.

The boardwalk.

Walking towards the lake, this beautiful structure that I had seen in pictures stood before me! A Tufa tower!

Close up of a Tufa tower. 

Mono Lake is a saline lake in a geologically active zone. Tufa towers are limestone (calcium carbonate) deposits formed under water that grow over a period of tens to hundreds of years. Mono lake has several such towers that got exposed only after a decision by the City of Los Angeles in 1941 to divert water from the lake to meet the demands of the city.  That action drained the lake to almost half its level. Salinity increased and a wonderfully unique ecosystem started feeling the effects of human interference. That's when the towers became visible.

The lake provides a great resting site for migratory birds and a nesting site for several shore birds and California gulls. At one time when the water levels fell to alarming levels, Negit island became a peninsula and bird nests became easily accessible to predators, causing stress to an established ecosystem. 

A committee was formed in 1978 to save the lake. After several years of litigation, the City of Los Angeles allowed the levels of water in the lake to rise. The restoration work continues. You can read about the details here. 

I quote the committee's co-founder's words here from the website- 

"As Rush Creek and I rambled to Mono Lake, I was struck with how quickly Mother Nature, given the chance, heals the wounds we inflict upon her.... If nature can heal an injured land, it can heal our blighted souls as well. That's why saving Mono Lake is a matter of saving, and healing, ourselves."

-David Gaines
co-founder, Mono Lake Committee

Driving a few miles further on the way after the boardwalk trail was a visitor center that provided more insight into the history of the lake. It is worth a visit.
Just a short drive from the visitor center is a parking lot to the Mono Lake scenic area.

A hike along the banks of the lake shows a landscape like no other.

While fish are conspicuous by their absence, trillions of brine shrimp are found in the lake and they, along with alkali flies, support a variety of birds. The tiny brine shrimp population thrives on planktonic algae that inhabit the waters.

California gulls are resident birds of the lake.

Tufa or Limestone deposits are in abundance. They are formed by processes explained here.

The black dot on the Tufa tower in the picture is an Osprey.

It was the onset of spring in the area, and the runoff from rains made the lake rich in nutrients, which supports a lavish growth of algae and gives the lake a greenish hue.

After Mono Lake, we did the June Lake Loop drive. It is a scenic route with great views of June Lake, Silver Lake and Grant Lake.

June Lake

Silver Lake

Grant Lake

We headed back to Lake Tahoe after a late lunch at Lee Vinings, a nice town near Mono Lake. 

On the way, we saw this old courthouse at Bridgeport. A sign on it says it was built in 1880.

As we drove up the mountain to get back to South Lake Tahoe, the clouds started to roll in.

Sure enough, it began to snow! 

An exciting finish to a great day!

Herbs

Stepping into the backyard and pinching off fresh herbs to add flavor to anything I am experimenting with in the kitchen is pure joy! Whether it is a dash of rosemary in soup, or fresh basil leaves in a Caprese salad or sandwich, or fresh curry leaves to season an Indian dish, fresh cut herbs add that zing factor as nothing else does.

Mints
I joined a local plant swap group about 2 months ago and was delighted to double the kinds of mint plants I had already growing. I already had Peppermint growing for the past several years. It is a great perennial that I always keep in a terracotta pot. Mints can get very invasive if put in the ground and take over the entire area in just a few weeks with fast growing runners helping it spread in all directions.

The one below is the Moroccan Mint. I had both the Peppermint and the Moroccan mint earlier. They both add great flavor to summer drinks, and to chutneys and relishes. 

A friend offered some Spearmint this spring and it has been a good addition to have in the yard.

I had never realized how delightful Chocolate Mint could be until I added some as a topping to ice cream. It is now a favorite in my herb garden!

Basil
Last year, I planted some Sweet basil, Genovese basil and some Thai basil. I got a good amount to make two jars of pesto. This year, the Thai Basil seems to be doing well.

The Sweet Basil is not happy with all the rain we are getting. This is the only plant which seems to look healthy.

I did manage to get an Indian Holy Basil this year for the first time. It seems to be doing well in the terracotta pot.

Cilantro and Parsley
For the first time this year, I was successful in getting a good crop of Cilantro for a period of over two months. It was fresh and so aromatic!

It got warmer and the cilantro bolted and has a lot of flowers now. I will let it seed over time.

Broad-leaf Parsley is also a new addition to my herb garden. If this works out well, I will try growing some curly leaf parsley as well.

Rosemary, Thyme and Oregano

These three make a great addition to season pasta, salads, and pasta/pizza sauces. A butternut squash soup I make would never taste the same without the addition of Rosemary.

I use fresh Thyme for seasoning pasta and pasta/pizza sauces. It has been a very useful addition to the herb garden.

When I planted the seeds of this Greek Oregano last season, it got lost in the raised bed with peppers on one side and vigorously growing Genovese Basil on the other. I had forgotten it was there until the basil dried out when it got cooler. This little plant got to see sunlight and started to grow at an alarming rate. I quickly transferred it to a large planter and it seems to be doing well. Fresh Oregano adds so much flavor to so many recipes.

Onion Chives
Another subtle yet flavorful herb to grace any garden. The beautiful flowers add color in spring and the leaves are a great addition to salads, noodles, and entrees.
I collect seeds once the flower has dried and replant them in the next season.

Curry Leaf Plant
This one was given to me about fourteen years ago by a friend. I had it in a planter and eventually put it in the ground. It has survived some very harsh winters and I cannot imagine what some Indian dishes would taste like without using it in the seasoning.

Lemon Grass
A friend gave me a small piece of this wonderful member of the grass family. I put it in soil, and didn't fuss around it too much. A year later, it is thriving, and it was my turn to give away little pieces of it to friends. It is a such great addition to have in the yard, especially in winter when the slightest hint of a sore throat or runny nose sent me into the backyard to get a couple of leaves. Boiling these leaves in water with a little ginger/clove/cardamom seeds provides soothing relief.

Lavender
I had tried growing lavender several years ago but it did not do very well. This year, at the plant swap with a local group, a lady had some cuttings with blooms on them. I got a couple. She asked me to scratch off the stem at the bottom, cut off the bloom, and stick the stem in soil. I did just that but let the bloom be for a while. I was delighted that it has taken root and it growing well. The fragrance is heavenly! I hope it will bloom soon.

On that fragrant note, I sign off for today!