Dec. 6, 2015 - Other Yosemite Photos

Tenaya Lake is an alpine lake located within Yosemite National Park. It’s at an elevation of 8150 feet. In winter, that area gets enough snow so the road beside the lake is closed until spring. This panorama photo is a composite of four individual photos that were combined using Photoshop.

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Here’s Diana holding two pine cones that we found in a grove of huge trees. Our intention was to show the disparity in size between cones from two different trees. However, I showed this photo to Shirley Spencer, our guide, and she pointed out that both cones are from the same kind of tree, a Sugar Pine. The smaller one is just the tip of a larger cone.

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One of the nights that we stayed at the Ahwahnee Hotel was Halloween. This is a fall harvest display located in the lobby of the hotel.

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I was surprised at how tame the Common Ravens were in Yosemite Park. This one was walking in the midst of our group right in a parking lot. Here in Minnesota, Ravens won’t let you get close to them at all.

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Here’s a silhouette photo of a Common Raven flying overhead. It’s a good look at the large, wedge-shaped tail that helps distinguish it from a Crow. Crows have a fan-shaped tail.

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This is a Douglas Squirrel, also called a Chickaree. It’s small, only 10½ to 14 inches long. That includes the tail which can be 5 to 7 inches long. It’s about the size of its close relative the Red Squirrel. When our group visited a Sequoia forest, we had to back away from the base of one of the giant trees because pine cones were dropping around us. We decided a Chickaree was at the top of the tree cutting cones and letting them fall to the ground. It would later come down and store these cones to eat during the winter. Sequoia cones are not very big but getting hit by one falling over 300 feet would really hurt.

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We saw quite a few Mule Deer in the park. This one was feeding right next to the road. Look at the size of those ears!

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Another exciting mammal sighting was this Coyote hunting in one of the open fields in Yosemite. Hunting must be good; it looks pretty healthy.

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