Awesome Sunset, Trout and Swamp Lakes

One of my absolute favorite places on this planet.  I think from this photo, you can probably see why :-)

Grand Portage, MN

Sunset Clouds and Autumn Colors

It's been a strange year for fall colors here in northeast Minnesota.  There is a lot of color out there in the leaves but so many are still green.  High winds have also gone through over the last few days, knocking many of the leaves off the trees.  The other day I went up to one of the fire towers in Grand Portage and made this photo of clouds over the trees to the east while the sun was setting behind me.

Magic Hour Light over Half Dome

What could be a more fitting end to an awesome trip to California than enjoying the beautiful glow of magic hour light on Half Dome in Yosemite National Park with my beautiful wife at my side?  I can't think of a better way to end the trip.  I really didn't want to come home and ever since I got back all I can think about is going out there again!  I have definitely been bitten by the California bug :-)

Sunset, North Dome and Basket Dome

Our last evening in the mountains of California was an unforgettable one.  We witnessed some beautiful colors and clouds from Glacier Point.  In this photo you can see the sunlit clouds over North Dome and Basket Dome.  So much beauty everywhere you look in this park!  Sometimes its hard to decide what to point your lens at :-)

Sunset on Half Dome

After we had completed our hikes to Sentinel Dome and Taft Point it was time to head back to Glacier Point for sunset.  Glacier Point at sunset is a wonderful thing.  Watching the last sunlight of the day illuminating Half Dome is a sight that I'll never forget.  The dome is angled just right for catching the light from the setting sun.  What an amazing place, this mountain country of California!  I simply cannot wait to go back :-)

Glacier Point - Half Dome View

Even though the majority of our trip was mostly off the beaten path we did do the normal tourist thing as well and followed the masses out to Glacier Point in Yosemite.  And boy am I glad we did!  Even though we had to wait almost half an hour in a long line of traffic just to get a parking spot, the view was worth the wait!  It didn't hurt that we had some awesome clouds in the sky to complement the already amazing view of Half Dome and the surrounding mountains.  This is one of those classic, iconic national park views.  Seeing views like this definitely take your breath away and makes you thankful that we have a national park system to preserve these natural wonders as best we can.  

Taft Point

For our second hike on our second day in Yosemite we walked out to Taft Point, a magnificent spot overlooking Yosemite Valley.  We visited Taft Point in the late afternoon so we had to contend with a lot of haze in the valley.  The haze actually added a lot of impact to the photos that we shot, giving a greater sense of depth to the canyon walls.  You really have to be careful here as there are no railings to keep you safely back from the edge of the cliffs.  It was a little nerve-racking to stand close enough to the edge to get photos like this. It seems like everywhere you go in Yosemite there is jaw-dropping beauty and Taft Point was no exception!