I flew Southwest Airlines from Albuquerque to Oakland on 9-26-19. Photos from that flight can be found here: believesteve.org/2019/12/17/southwest-airlines-abq-to-oakland-9-26-2019/

Landing at Oakland Airport

I was picked up at the airport by my son, Ethan, after which we drove to Penngrove (in Sonoma County), to the home that he and wife Flo had recently purchased. A beautiful home in the country! Kathy joined me there, driving our van up from Simi Valley, where she had attended her high school 50th reunion.

Ethan does breakfast

L to R: Flo’s dog, Miss America, Kathy, me and Ethan

And Ethan had filled the bird feeders.

Chestnut-backed chickadee

Chestnut-backed chickadee

Oak titmouse

While there, Kathy and I visited Point Reyes National Seashore.

Point Reyes and Tomales Bay, view to the N

Limantour trail

Great egret, Limantour trail

Great egret, Limantour trail

Tule elk, near Drake’s Beach

Heermann’s (grey) and other gulls, Drake’s Beach, Point Reyes

Driftwood teepee, Drakes’s Beach

Next up was Yosemite! Here are some scenes from the Tioga Rd.

Chipmunk

A favorite Sierra tree – the Sierra juniper

A flock of Red crossbills

Red crossbills. Their “crossed” bills are used for opening up pine cones.

Mob scene at Olmstedt Point

Seen from Olmstedt Point, the sweeping granite slabs of Clouds Rest Peak, which is located at the upper end of Yosemite Valley. The Quarter Domes are seen to the right. View to the S.

Glacier-ground slabs, at Olmstedt Point

From Olmstedt Point, Half Dome, view to the S

From further west on the Tioga Rd, a telephoto view of the upper half of Half Dome. Just barely visible are climbers on the Cable route, to the sunlit-side of the shadow line on the left. View to the S.

Curved overhang, on Pywiack Dome. The brownish areas are glacial polish.

Tree grows in a pocket, on the slabs of Pywiack Dome

Pywiack Dome

Cathedral Peak, view to the E

Extreme telephoto view of Vogelsang Peak, view to the SE

Hike to May Lake, which is located to the north of the Tioga Rd.

Mt. Hoffman, from the trail

May Lake and Mt. Hoffman

May Lake reflections

May Lake

Cathedral Peak and Echo Peaks, view to the E

Cathedral Peak was where, in 1967, Glen Denny and I made the 12 minute movie “Nyala”, of me soloing the regular route. As I recall, it later won a prize at the Trento Film Festival.

View of the Cathedral Range, from the trail to May Lake

We passed through Yosemite Valley twice in one day, on the way to and from Fish Camp. I took this extreme telephoto photo of Reed’s Pinnacle from the road to Wawona and Fish Camp, in the AM. Here, a climber in an orange shirt is seen on the Direct Route, with two other climbers at the top of the pitch. The regular route on Reed’s was my last climb in the Valley. I took a fall on the last pitch, breaking my left ankle and cheek bone. I tell that story in another post: wordpress.com/post/believesteve.org/8276

Reed’s Pinnacle, Direct route

On our next pass through the Valley, in the PM, a fire had just begun down valley, and smoked things out.

Cathedral Spires, shrouded by smoke

Middle Cathedral Rock, with Higher Cathedral Rock behind

In the old days (early 60s) I climbed both spires and the East Buttress of Middle Cathedral Rock.

We left the Park via Tioga Pass, headed home. Our last stop in California was Convict Lake, on the east side of the Sierras.

Convict Lake, Laurel Mountain and the Sevehah Cliffs

Wasp nest and aspens

Three photos of reflections in Convict Lake, from the trail along its southern side …

and two photos of Convict Creek.

Inlet of Convict Creek

Shaded falls on Convict Creek

Camping at Convict Lake