Sunbeams from Tunnel View, Saturday morning

Sunbeams from Tunnel View, Saturday morning


First, some good news: the blog is back up! It took a little longer than I hoped, but all the posts have been restored. Most of the comments will eventually be restored also, but some, unfortunately, may be lost. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience and understanding!

Meanwhile, in Yosemite, the cool, wet weather has continued through most of May. Yosemite Valley has reached over 55 inches of total precipitation since July 1st last year, one of the wettest seasons on record. The Valley even received a couple of inches of snow around May 17th, while I was in Utah.

I snuck up to park early Saturday morning, before the holiday throngs clogged the roads, and encountered some unexpectedly beautiful clouds at Tunnel View, complete with the god beams pouring onto the valley floor that you see in the photo above. After the light show dissipated I checked out the valley flowers, and was surprised at how late everything is—or continues to be. But maybe I shouldn’t be surprised, given the weather. The dogwoods are still in bloom in the Valley, although they’re looking rather old now. The cow parsnip are late again, like last year. They’re coming up, but none were in bloom yet, although they grow quickly, and some should blossom within a week or so. I saw an azalea flower or two in El Capitan Meadow, but most of these also look like they’ll wait another two weeks or so before appearing.

Saturday afternoon I drove up to Crane Flat and out Highway 120 toward the entrance station. This area often has some great dogwood displays, and since the elevation is 1000 to 1500 feet higher than the Valley they bloom later. But there was absolutely nothing happening there. Most of the dogwoods didn’t even have the little green precursor petals. They look they’re still two weeks away from blooming. I also checked out the dogwoods along Highway 41 between Yosemite Valley and Chinquapin (the turnoff to Glacier Point). These also live a bit higher than the Valley, and most were in full bloom, and in great shape, still fresh.

The Glacier Point Road opened last Friday, then closed again Sunday because of snow! But it reopened yesterday. The park service has not issued an opening date yet for Tioga Pass. Most locals guess it will open in late June, but a July opening is not out of the question.

The water levels are high, but they’re bound to get much higher. The cool weather has delayed melting, and there’s still tons of snow up in the high country. When the inevitable June hot spell arrives, the volume of water in the falls will reach spectacular levels, and the meadows in Yosemite Valley will turn into large reflecting ponds. Can’t wait!