Animals of Yosemite National Park

As I talked about IN A PREVIOUS POST, the trip that my family and I took to Yosemite was simply fantastic.  Yosemite was just magical!  However, in the last post, you might have noticed that, with the exception of the odd, Snoopy-looking rock, I neglected to talk about any animals that we saw in Yosemite.  And, if you know anything about my family and this blog, then you know that we saw some animals!  So here are some of those animals that we saw! First off, a mule deer that I believe we saw on our hike up to Sentinel Dome.

Next, we have a scarlet kingsnake that my father and I saw when we walked over to the base of El Capitan.

 

We also saw this lizard at the base of El Capitan.  It looks to me like it might be a skink, but I really have no idea.  If you know what it is, make sure to shoot me an email!

We also saw a large Yosemite toad!  It was just kind of chilling in the middle of a pond, but then something startled it, and it lept into the water!

 

 

 

 

 

We also, of course, saw some bears, which were really super exciting!  Here are some pictures of some of the bears that we saw!

 

 

 

 

The Majesty of Yosemite

I think one of the most majestic places that I have ever visited was easily Yosemite.  It was simply fantastic!  Here are a lot of really good pictures of places within the valley.  Keep in mind that the photos simply don't do justice to the place!  First off, we have a picture of the valley!

Next, we have a few pictures of El Capitan, taken from the base!  In some of the pictures, you can actually see some crazy climbers slowly but surely making their way up the side of the mountain!  Apparently, it takes them THREE WHOLE DAYS to make the ascent!  And they have to sleep  in their harness and do their business in the harness and everything!  Even if I wasn't afraid of heights, those both would be deal breakers for me!

At the time of year that we went, the rivers were absolutely swollen with water.  Actually, I believe we were there on the day with the highest amount of water running through the rivers! 

 

 

 

 

Here is a picture of Sentinel Dome, where my parents got married!

This, I believe, was the view of Half Dome from Sentinel Dome.

Here is a picture of an odd-looking rock formation.  I still think it looks exactly like Snoopy, the World War I flying ace. 

Now for some pictures of the amazing and gorgeous waterfalls!

 Here is a picture of El Capitan off to the left, and then a waterfall on the right.  Gorgeous!

Mammoth Lakes on Dwellable

The Magic of Mariposa Grove

One of the coolest places that we went while in California was the Mariposa Grove, home to the Giant Sequoias, just a short drive outside of Yosemite.  It was absolutely incredible!  These trees were just simply massive, you couldn't even begin to get over their enormous size!  Here are some pictures of it, with myself, my sister, my father, my mother, and some other random people randomly in there for a size comparison!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also saw these really cool and weird looking red flowers all over the place!  These flowers belong to a plant called the "snow plant," and belong to the genus Sarcodes.  Related to the heaths (i.e. rhododendrons, blueberries  and cranberries), the snow plant is an interesting parasitic plant.  Instead of living off of dead plant and animal material, they infect fungi.  However, they don't kill the fungi once its been infected.  Instead, the fungi and the flower help each other out in a classic case of mutualism!

Finally, I was really excited by this burnt log that, in my opinion, greatly resembled the devil.  Other members of my family thought it resembled a bison more, but clearly they are insane.

 The photo credit for all of the photos in this post go to Julie Neher.

Mariposa on Dwellable