Yosemite Valley, February 2017
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Bridal Veil Falls with Trees
Bridal Veil Falls with Trees

On the day we were supposed to leave for Yosemite, I woke up with fever. Should I stay home or go anyway? Not really a question - I took some Tylenol and got in the car (Rob drove) and as soon as we were in the valley I felt much better although still in a bit of a fog, which is what may have inspired me to take this photo of Bridal Veil Falls partially obscured by trees.


Morning Snow on Branches
Morning Snow on Branches

It snowed overnight and we woke up to these beautiful snow covered branches and more snow lightly falling. I took more Tylenol and we went for a walk!


Yosemite Falls in Winter
Yosemite Falls

I love it when the mist from Yosemite Falls freezes in these wonderful patterns on the granite wall. It usually melts off by mid- to late-morning and huge chunks of ice fall of making great crashing and booming sounds.


Rock and Ice
Rock and Ice

We usually take a nice long snowshoe hike from Badger Pass (uh, I mean the Yosemite Ski and Snowboard Area) to Dewey Point but the flu constrained me to easy flat walks in Yosemite Valley. But hey, I got to see the granite walls below Glacier Point covered with these incredible ice patterns.


Horsetail Falls - Not!
Horsetail Falls - Not!

If you visit Yosemite in mid- to late-February and get lucky with the clouds and the temperatures (warm enough that Horsetail Falls is actually flowing) you just might see the sun hit the falls as it's setting to create the illusion of a fire fall. We waited patiently with dozens of other people to see if the sun was going to light it up but unfortunately there were low clouds on the horizon and this was as good as it got. Still lovely to be outside in Yosemite Valley - life is good!


Short video (40 secs) of Frazil Ice
(you may have to wait a few seconds for the video to load)

Frazil ice forms under very special conditions and we were lucky to see it on this trip. The air temperature must be below freezing and then mist from Yosemite Falls freezes in the air and falls back into the creek and forms large slushy clumps. It can accumulate on the top of the creek and even look like a firm layer of snow but it's not firm at all - anyone trying to walk on it would very quickly find themselves in the very cold creek water!