posted by SHELLEY BRUCAR
Another strenuous climb was to the top of Vernal Fall. It was steep, rocky and quite wet, but again very much worth the effort. It was beautiful from the beginning of the trail.
First view of Vernal Fall:
As we got closer, the mist from the waterfall got very heavy, and we were happy to have brought our bright yellow Yosemite rain ponchos! Yes, those are water spots on my lens.
And a rainbow at the bottom…
posted by SHELLEY BRUCAR
We wanted to get up close and personal with some waterfalls. This requires some challenging hiking, but we did it! Here’s the trail to Upper Yosemite Fall. Rocky and uphill, and notice the drop-off on the left.
I love the trail sign indicating “no biking” as if this would even be possible on a bike.
Then it’s all so worth the struggle when you turn a corner and Upper Yosemite Fall is right there in front of you, close enough to feel the mist.
Here are closer views. The white streaks on the side are ice; it’s cold near the water at high elevations.
Then on the way down, it looks like a storm is coming – time to get off the mountain.
posted by SHELLEY BRUCAR
More Yosemite photos…
You can see why they call it “Mirror Lake”. The first image is the famous Half Dome. Some folks climb it; I did not!
One day it snowed. I don’t like snow or cold, but this was beautiful. The term “winter wonderland” kept floating through my mind.
My fingers were numb, but I had to have pictures. It did warm up some by the following day. My next post will feature waterfalls.
posted by SHELLEY BRUCAR
My husband and I are just back from 2 weeks in Yosemite National Park, one of my favorite places on earth. We did some easy hikes, some fairly stenuous hikes and got up close and personal with several incredible waterfalls. I managed to fill 4 cf cards ranging from 1G to 4G, so it will take a while to go through all the photos, but today I’ll share a few from the beginning of the trip. From the moment of driving into the park, the views are absolutely beyond description. I fell in love with Yosemite almost 30 years ago, and finally returning, fell in love all over again.
For the first week, we stayed at Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal. It is right outside the park, 1 mile from the Arch Rock entrance. I would definitely stay there again. The room was large, comfortable and equipped with kitchen area, microwave, fireplace and giant-sized whirlpool tub – very much appreciated after a full day of hiking up and down mountains! As if that is not enough, there was a huge patio outside our back door which backed right up to the Merced River. Listening to the rapids at night was blissful. Not even in the park yet and it’s wonderful! Here are some images of the Merced River rapids and other views from our patio:
The weather changed often, and in the above photos you can see the morning mist rising.
As you drive into the park, which is known for some of the tallest waterfalls in the world, of course one of the first things you see is Cascade Fall, and you are surrounded by massive granite cliffs.
More to come…
posted by SHELLEY BRUCAR
“In The Breeze II” (c)2007 Shelley Brucar – Pattern available for this piece.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to teach my “Painting with Fabric” class for Centennial Quilters in LaGrange. They were a delightful group, mostly traditional quilters, but each participant very willing to step outside her own comfort zone to experiment with art quilting. Some folks used my patterns, some created their own designs. I believe everyone tried out some new ideas and had fun.
Here are Sally and Grace in design mode.
Here are Pat and Phyllis showing progress on their pieces. Pat, thank you for that exquisite piece of fabric!
A few more pieces-in-progress.
And by the way, this group really puts on quite a lunch! Thanks for inviting me.
Surround Yourself with Serenity 
