Yosemite in Winter Pt.2

The four days that we were in Yosemite, we were blessed with good weather.  It would have been nice to have some fresh snow but one can't have everything!  We already got two spectacular sunsets, it would be greedy to ask for more.

Day 3

This morning we went to the Swinging Bridge to catch the sunrise gold on Upper Yosemite Falls.  It was magical to watch the light change on the rocks and the reflection in the water.  Time-lapse photography would have been amazing.  

Upper Yosemite falls change its look every day with the changing ice built up on its sides.  

Morning sun on El Capitan from a different perspective

Magical light from the river bank

Many ravens hanging around the valley

Finally, Half Dome, best in the afternoon light from Sentinel Bridge

Our second Firefall, not as intense or spectacular than the first one

Day 4

This morning we waited for the sun to peep over the shoulder of Half Dome from Cook Meadow.  There were a lot of beautiful oak trees on the meadow trail.  
 

Magnificent oak in front of Half Dome

Sun rise over Half Dome's shoulder

Steller Jays were very active in the forest

Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls from the Valley Loop Trail

Closeup of lacy ice

Bridal Veil Falls live up to its name with the lacy ice

Valley view - saving the best till the last

Icicle-trimmed tunnel entrance

The final sunset - a stunning red reflected on the rocks.   This time we see Half Dome clearly in the distance.  Somehow I still prefer the one with the mist...

We said goodbye to Yosemite the following warm, sunny morning.  The week following, there was a rockfall on El Capitan and the viewing area for the Firefall had to be closed, followed by a heavy snowfall and cloudy skies.  Two weeks later, the park was closed with 15 feet of snow.  We truly counted our lucky stars!

The famous Columbia River Gorge

From the Painted Hills in Central Oregon, we headed up north to Mt. Hood. It was only a three hour drive on a sunny day and we decided to head right up to Mt. Hood in case it's not visible in the morning (and it wasn't!). While we could see it clearly, it was disappointingly flat - wrong time of day? The iconic Timberline Lodge was more attractive and we made it just in time for lunch in the Cascade restaurant.  Oregon pork is so delicious!  You can see from the photos below the impressive interior. 

We then headed to the famous Trillium Lake, hoping for some reflections but it looked like late afternoon was not a good time for that; we went again in the morning and there was no reflection either. It was a busy lake and quite big - not conducive to reflections. Our original plan was to do a hike to Mirror Lake which would have given us a better reflection because it is supposedly smaller and much quieter.  But we have been on the road for 2 weeks now and getting a little tired so decided to take it easy. Afterall we had seen quite a few lake reflections in the past two weeks.

The Columbia River Gorge was famous for its waterfalls. Unfortunately, because of a recent fire, parts of the scenic historic Columbia River Highway was closed and we had to take the Interstate to get to the various falls the following morning. Our first stop was Bridal Veil Falls, reached by a short but steep hike downhill. It did look like a pretty bridal veil. The next stop was the iconic Multnomah Falls; we had been warned that this was always crowded and there were sign boards on the highway directing visitors to take a shuttle from a nearby park because of limited parking at the Falls. We decided to take our chances even though it was a Sunday and did manage to park at the Falls. It was a short walk from the parking lot. The Falls were indeed awesome but was the most crowded of all the sights we have visited in the past two weeks.  But since the crowds did not really affect the view of the falls, it was not a big deal.

We continued east going up the gorge visiting the Bonneville Dam with its interesting fish ladder, then Starvation Creek State Park to view another tall waterfall. There was supposed to be another waterfall at Mosier but we couldn't find it and it was getting late in the day so we headed up to Panorama Point. But the light was already gone by the time we got up there - time to go back to the hotel.

Excited about visiting Portland the following day!

Mt. Hood from Trillium Lake

Mt. Hood from Timberline Lodge

The impressive lobby of Timberline Lodge, built of Oregon woods during the Great Depression

The stairs

Light fixtures

Bridal Veil Falls

Multnomah Falls

Starvation Creek State Park Falls

Columbia River

Next post:  Portland