Visit to Yosemite National Park, California

 El Capitan lit up by the early morning sun. 

This fall I had a short visit to the iconic Yosemite National Park in California.  Luckily, I was there in the height of the fall season so that the colours of the changing leaves were stunning.  Two of the best known features in the Yosemite Valley are El Capitan, which is a 3000-ft vertical granite cliff (a very popular rock-climbing location) and the majestic Half Dome. I found their presence awe inspiring, making me feel so insignificant. 

Sometimes, it was hard for me to watch, through binoculars, the climbers scaling what seemed to be totally impossible routes up the cliff.

In the evening we drove up to Glacier Point, high above Yosemite Valley to see Half Dome lit up by the setting sun.  We were lucky that evening, it was spectacular! 

The pristine Merced River which runs through Yosemite Valley. Near where it exits the park, there are places where there are some huge boulders which for me really made the scene extraordinary particularly with the fall colours.

The following day we visited the Tuolumine Grove of Giant Sequoias and had a few hours of pure delight walking among these giants which can be as old as 3000 years! 

Further along the Tioga Road, we spent a long time exploring Omstead Point which is a very impressive because of the large expanses of bare granite and the presence of huge boulders strewn around. I was amazed that so many of the trees seem to grow out of the cracks in the granite and somehow survive and thrive in this very harsh environment.  It was awe inspiring!

I love this view from Omstead Point looking at the back of Half Dome which has such a powerful presence.

My last day in Yosemite, I visited  Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls and on the way there these gorgeous trees towered high above.  

I sure hope that I have an opportunity to visit Yosemite again as it truly is a beautiful park. 

Newfoundland Adventures

Whales!

Recently I was in Newfoundland, on the far eastern coast of Canada and visited Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, south of St John's. This year the whales were incredibly plentiful due to the abundance of capelin, the small fish that the whales feed on. I spent the most amazing few hours in the company of these huge giants. I discovered that whales sleep.  

When whales sleep, half of the their brain sleeps while half stays awake to danger. After sleeping for awhile like a log on the water, this humpback whale treated us to this wonderful display of their fins high up in the air, then crashing them down on the water again and again. Being in it's presence as the whale played like this was a magnificient experience! 

So close to our boat this whale prepared to dive deep showing it's massive tail before disappearing into the depth for some time.  It is always exhilarating to watch this! 

Every underside of a whale is unique like our fingerprints. This is how they are identified. It is a gorgeous sight as they slip into the water

Isolated Outports on the South and North Central Coast of Newfoundland

This summer we visited many of the isolated outports, as they are known, are located on the south coast of Newfoundland. These villages  are often only accessible by ferry. Sadly, these villages which have existed for so many years and thrived in past times are slowing losing their young people. There simply are few opportunities for livelihood in the outports since the cod moratorium.  As we talked to the townsfolk, we heard again and again who their villages were shrinking and inevitably they will end up relocating somewhere else in Newfoundland. It felt like a privilege to experience each of these outports knowing they will inevitably disappear.  

This is the outport of Galtois, located about six kilometers from Hermitage on the mainland. The harbour where the ferry docks is in the background and there is a long boardwalk that connects to the rest of the village.  It is a gorgeous setting!

This small stage (fishing building) in Galtois caught my eye as the last of the day's sunlight lit it up. 

Sunrise in Galtois.

Coming into the outport of McCallum located about 27 kilometers from Hermitage on the mainland. This village is really in the middle of nowhere, protected by an island immediately in front of it.  This village has voted for resettlement so gradually most of the inhabitants will move away and eventually there will be no more ferry service. 

One most striking things about McCallum are the boardwalks connecting the village.

Burgeo located on the southwest coast was first accessible by road in 1979. Houses are literally built on rocks in this town which is a beautiful. This was the sunrise of my first morning there. 

This was a particularly picturesque part of Burgeo.

Arriving in Ramea, an outport located on a small island about 24 kilometers from Burgeo. There are a number of windmills on this island which is unusual in this area. 

A beautiful still evening in Ramea.

A Ramea sunset. 

What a beautiful setting for Grey River. In background is a bay or fjord which goes back many kilometers and said to be beautiful.  Grey River is forty-eight  kilometers east of Burgeo. 

Arriving in Francois about seventy-five kilometers east of Burgeo.  It was love at first sight! This gorgeous village was our home for three lovely days. At the moment there are just seventy five people who inhabit  this village full time. Many who have moved away come back in the summer months to reconnect with their home and community.  

The homes in Francois were so colorful. It was a joy to see them!

There is a lookout point high above Francois. This image really captured the way that this outport is held in nature.

These buildings are located across from the B & B that we stayed at in Rose Blanche located east of Port Aux Basques on the south-west tip of Newfoundland. This village was first accessible by road in 1963. It is very colorful and again the houses and buildings are often hugging the rocks.   

An inlet in Rose Blanche which is particularly picturesque. 

The well-known granite lighthouse at Rose Blanche. 

Petits, located just three kilometers across the bay from Rose Blanche is a resettled outport as of 2003. The buildings are no long inhabited other than locals coming back to visit in the summer. I could literally see buildings in the process of collapsing. The family that took us out to see Petits remembered actually visiting their aunt there as a child. It made the dying of this village real for us.   

A larger view of Petits and it's beautiful location. 

Coming back into Rose Blanche, I loved the view of these homes perched on the rocks.

This is the village of Tilting located on Fogo Island off of the north-central coast. For many years this village was very isolated as were all the communities on Fogo Island, only accessible by ferry.  Now there is a road directly to Tilting which is a National Historic Site. This building known as the "O'Keefe Premises is perhaps the most photographed building in Tilting or even Newfoundland. 

 A picturesque old fishing stage in Tilting.