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Daily Bucket - Yosemite Waterfalls and Wildflowers (Birds included) [1]

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Date: 2023-06-21

Snowmelt fuels the gorgeous spring waterfalls that cascade over the granite walls into the Yosemite Valley. This year the Sierra Nevada received more than 700 total inches of snow, the second largest snowfall amount recorded at the Sierra Snow Lab. This year, the Yosemite waterfalls are spectacular.

So I took some friends visiting from overseas to experience the wonder of Yosemite for the first time. The day was unseasonably cool but clear with a slight wind. While we enjoyed the views, the park was so full, they closed the valley and we spent some time visiting the historic area around Wawona. The lines to take the shuttle to the Mariposa Grove of Sequoias was hours long, so we passed that up as well. I had never seen the park this crowded.

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The Merced River that usually meanders peaceably through the valley roars and flows at a furious rate. It strayed far from its banks, closing some campgrounds and flooding many of the meadows.

The Merced River running hard and fast through the Yosemite valley.

Everywhere you looked you could see one marvelous waterfall after another. Here they are:

Bridalveil Falls — the blowing wind creates a misty “veil’ that gives this fall its name.

Ribbon Falls — a long slender line of water falls gracefully down the granite rock.

Upper Cascade Falls tumbles over a series of boulders creating a stunning vista.

The water continues to tumbles as it flows under Highway 120 and makes its way to the Merced River.

Sentinel Falls flows on the south side of the valley from the top of Glacier Point.

An unnamed seasonal fall drops snowmelt to a ledge below creating a pool high above the valley. This cascade will dry up when the snow is completely done.

Even the creeks were running full and overflowing their banks.

Bridalveil Creek below the falls creates small mini cascades as it races to the Merced River. It has spread far beyond its normal banks due to the large volume of water.

Wildflowers could be seen everywhere. I don’t know any of their names but they were so pretty, I took lots of photos.

This is a very pretty ground cover with cute little white flowers.

This bush had lots of soft white columns of flowers. This flowering bushes covered lots of acreage that had been burned in the Rim fire of 2015.

I think this is lupine. There was a whole field at one spot but I was unable to stop for a photo.

Little purple flowers in front with a field of ferns behind it.

Some pink flowers

White and pink flowers

Little orange flowers that look like little bells.

A field of pink

Yellow flowers dominate

Tiny tiny white flower clusters peek through western cedar.

White and purple flowers

Another type of little white flowers

Lots of little yellow flowers dominate this area.

But of course I had to see birds. Unfortunately, I only spotted my favorite Sierra bird, the Stellar’s Jay, once and he didn’t stick around long enough for me to get a pic. here are some that did:

Brewer’s blackbird hen watched my friends and I picnic near El Capitan

A Raven ponders whether I am a friend or foe.

A Dark-Eyed Junco pops out from under a wood fence.

A lone Mallard swims on a flooded meadow.

An Acorn Woodpecker is barely visible sitting on a log in front of another flooded meadow.

I also saw a beautiful blue butterfly while visiting the historic village of Wawona.

This little blue butterfly flitted above the pine duff.

Here’s the famous Half Dome that dominates the east end of the valley.

Half Dome as seen from Yosemite Village. You can barely see a snow patch on top just above the black streak.

With snow still melting, I expect anyone will be able to see full waterfalls through most of the summer. Hopefully, the Tioga Pass Road will be open by July 4.

Finally, here are two photos that are totally Yosemite:

Two climbers on El Capitan. They were slightly more than halfway up the rock face.

Tunnel View — Classic Yosemite Valley El Capitan on the left, Half Dome center and Bridalveil Falls on the right. The view hasn’t changed since President Grant’s visit in 1879. You can’t see any of the thousands of visitors in the valley that day.

We are enjoying cooler temps in most of NorCal that are staying 3 to 4 degrees lower than the average. We are holding our breathe as to when the 100 degree temps come roaring in.

What’s up in your neck of the woods?

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