Yosemite, my heart

I was talking to my tent mate Jane (via email) who lives in New York about our summer in Yosemite. I was there from May to August. Jane and I had a great time while we were there. I packed my side of the tent with "stuff" because I brought my crafts and my bike and then I bought other stuff while I was there. I think she was amazed I could still walk to my cot.

But what I loved about that time was the women who came together. I woke up each morning smelling the fresh air and the forest around us. I went for walks and saw the creatures that learned to adapt with so many people milling about in their habitat. I met Native Americans who outwardly accepted what has happened to their land. I saw their generosity to share the stories, and their culture and tried to give back to them some of the respect and care to the valley that they love. And they shared this wonderous place through their eyes.

I have always been drawn to the place since my paternal Grandmother took us there in the early 60's. We saw the famous firefall, the bears at the garbage dump, and the rangers telling tales around a huge fire in the campground each night about the Native Americans. I do remember most how cold the water was when we went swimming, and how magnificent Half Dome was at sunset. How El Capitan was bathed in gold as the sun began to rise in the morning as the low tully fog would dissipate. I loved to get up earlier than everyone else and go out to see it all before the crowds of summer.

Since then Nancy and I have gone there many times during different seasons. I have taken several friends for their first look at the valley and I never lose the emotion of seeing it for the first time again. Cal and I have been there a few times and have hiked in the snow in February.

We have seen many different sides to the valley, from snow to the warmth of summer, but the granite cliffs remain. Not the same, but still tall and grand. They reach to heaven and make a small miracle in between them. The meadows that John Muir loved and that Ansel Adams photographed are always there for us. They have changed over the last 50 years I have been going to the Valley. There have been floods, landslides, and fires. But the Valley heals itself. It keeps coming back. The trees grow back and become better because of a fire has cleaned out the underbrush and made room for new seedlings. A flood cleaned out the rivers and the streams so that they flow better and left silt so that more flowers will grow in the meadows that were underwater. The landslides are how we got half dome in the first place. If you look across form half dome when you are there you will see a full dome that is what it used to look like.

In high school I had a great biology teacher that taught me that all things change. Nothing bad or good just that all things change. Well, I learned it well. In the Valley that I love, it changes all the time. But it still takes my breath away every time I see it. I love the changes and accept that there are things that will be different every time I go.

Next time you go to Yosemite, try to take a side trip to Hetch Hetchy reseviour and take a walk to the falls there. This used to be as beautiful as Yosemite but they put up a dam in  and the water is for San Francisco. John Muir fought it until he died. It is a wonderful hike around it and you can imagine how beautiful this valley might have been.

So enjoy my amature pictures of a valley that I know makes my heart fill with joy everytime I see it. I hope each of you has a place like this.  

Do we really see around us, or are we passing it by?

My girlfriend Nancy of 20 plus years sent me an email that had someone else's blog posting in it. It was a short poem about how we are all so attached to our cell phones, I Pads, computers and jobs that we don't take the time to look up and see what's around us. Oh we say we are in touch because we are on Facebook and we twitter and tweet or whatever the hell else you do. Oh yea and lets not forget texting. Where we teach ourselves not to spell correctly.  And as those of you who really know me understand I have resisted all of this. I like to send emails but there is nothing better than a face to face.

When I lived in Paso Robles, I liked to go to breakfast on Saturday's to Touch of Paso and catch up with the women who worked there. They were friends that I could chat with and it was a face to face meeting that we all enjoyed. I like to pick up the phone and talk to hear the intonation of the voice so I know if there is really a problem or if it is just a minor thing. I can't tell that from a text. Even an email which I do use, doesn't satisfy me.

I like to stop if I see a scene that is rare and beautiful on my way to work and find a moment of time to smell the roses that used to grow at the end of the rows of the vineyards that I passed on the way into town. You can't do that if you are doing 14 things at once. You don't notice the play of clouds across a clear blue sky as a storm moves in. Or as it moves out to leave a sparkling last spray of raindrops on a tree. Or find a rainbow when it comes if you are texting. I find myself every morning on my way to work leaving early to catch the early light at the lake or the wispy clouds over the hills just so I can spend a few minutes drinking in the beauty of it.

So when you are looking out and up and finding yourself with friends and family, enjoying the interaction between people and have the experiences you can enjoy in the years to come. Those are the memories that you will always have in your hearts. Holding your grandchilds hand and showing him the beauty of nature and the life lessons that will make them a better person in their life. That is the time you can listen to their questions no matter how small.  Who knows what might come up? In this day and age of technology (some of which we are using right now to reach out to you) I am missing out on a beautiful almost perfect sunny day on the coast. Granted it is still cold but there are some beautiful clouds in perfect puff ball style and the birds are chirping. My dogs are awaiting me to take them for a walk down to the beach and if I am lucky, maybe we will see the Orca that has been sighted off the coast. Who knows? But I do know that I miss my Saturday morning chats with my "girls" and I miss that I don't get to share little things that go on in the day to day routines, but I do get to send pictures now. And I do get to stay in touch with old friends that are far away in places. So I guess there are some redeeming factors.

Enjoy the Day!!!! Coy