In the fall of 2014, I enjoyed the fall colors of Johnson’s Shut Ins. It was a little past peak on October 28. Several people I spoke to later about the park were under the misconception that the shut ins were ruined in 2005 during a water reservoir breach at the nearby power plant. Part of the park was severely damaged but the most beautiful part remains intact … the actual shut ins.

 

 

Hope your holidays are the best! This photo is from Santa Day last year. Every year, UniGroup holds a Santa Day for employees and their families with the opportunity to have a photo with Santa, carriage rides and face paintings. Santa Day is coming up. We’ll have to see if we have snow again. Either way, we will all have the holiday spirit!

This colorful bird lives at the World Bird Sanctuary in Valley Park, Mo.  Bateleur is a French word, which means acrobat.  This type of eagle is not native to North America.  The Bateleur Eagle is native to Africa.  The native name for this eagle is Chapungu, and it is believed to be good luck if the bird flies over your house.

When we drove to Yosemite for our Christmas holidays, it took roughly four hours from San Jose to the Wawona Hotel in Yosemite.  On the return trip, we tried another route to try and avoid the Friday afternoon rush hour for New Year’s Eve.  The return trip avoided the rush hour by taking a road that doesn’t show up on some maps.  I believe it was called Puerto del Canyon Road.  It took seven hours for the return trip, but a lot of the scenery was magnificent.  On the long stretch through the canyon, we could only drive from 20 – 30 mph.  We were so high up that it was like driving through the clouds and sometimes looking down on them.  We drove past the Lick Observatory, and the road eventually came into San Jose.  It was definitely the road less traveled.  Be sure to do the drive in the daytime — if you ever go.

During our Christmas vacation after one of our lunches at the Ahwahnee Hotel, we walked around outside and found an easy trail that was off to the side of the valet parking.  We meandered for a while, enjoying the walk and taking photos.  As we were returning to the hotel, we saw a small group taking photos.  When we turned around, we saw the dramatic sunset light hitting Yosemite Valley.

This photo was taken along the main drive in the southern part of the park between the Ahwahnee Hotel and the Wawona Hotel.  Fortunately, there is a pull out to stop and take photographs.  This particular scene looked etheral with all of the layered clouds.  This is actually how it appeared — no Photoshop enhancements.

As a family, we traveled to Yosemite National Park for our 2011 Christmas holiday.  While driving through Yosemite, I saw a coyote for the first time.  As it turned out, there were several coyotes along Glacier Point Road in the park.  Coyotes can live by catching mice and squirrels.  However, coyotes have also learned to beg humans for food.  It did seem like the coyote was expecting a treat from us after waiting for me to take its photo.  We were not keeping any food in the vehicle due to the warnings about bears going after food.  The National Park Service requests that visitors do not feed the coyotes, so they remain wild and self-sufficient.  The coyotes we saw looked healthy, and they were enjoying the park as much as we were!

Last year in 2010, our holidays were spent in Wyoming at Togwotee Mountain Lodge.  We all agreed that one of our favorite activities was dog sledding.  The lodge where we were staying offered the dog sledding right behind the lodge.  The dogs are so excited and love to go out on the runs.  They all want to be chosen.  The dogs pictured here are veterans who are being mushed by Billy Snodgrass who participates in the Iditarod.  If you ever go, take a balaclava with you to keep warm and to help with the gaseous odors that the dogs seem to emit.  It’s still worth the ride.  Each sled seats one to two persons depending on the size.  This photograph was taken by a photographer who works at the lodge named Lindsay.  Happy holidays to all in 2011 and looking forward to a great 2012.

In February 2010, I visited Lone Elk Park in St. Louis County again.  I must admit that I have a greater appreciation for the wildlife after visiting Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park.  It is much easier to find and photograph the elk in the 546 acres of Lone Elk Park than it is to find wildlife in the huge national parks.  The original elk used to populate Lone Elk Park came from Yellowstone, creating a link between St. Louis County and the national park in Wyoming.