Lori and I went to Yosemite Valley to spend the weekend under the Full Wolf Moon, the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. From the Farmers’ Almanac:
Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for January’s full Moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon.
On the way down Friday, we stopped at a vineyard and tried to capture the rows of bare grape vines and the precise line of trees behind it. We also stopped to look at a camping trailer I was interested in, so we didn’t arrive at Yosemite until slightly before sunset. We went up to Tunnel View to watch the sunset, which was fairly ordinary, but then the full moon started rising behind Half Dome and that was very extraordinary. For sleeping, we’d rented one of the Curry Village heated cabins and I must say, the heaters in those cabins are excellent.
Saturday morning, we walked over to the Happy Isles Bridge and photographed the Merced River and then we headed over to Yosemite Falls, Ahwahnee Meadow, Sentinel Bridge and just photographed away. We decided to spend sunset and moonrise on Sentinel Bridge, photographing Half Dome and the Merced River. We met a few other hardy souls out there with their cameras too and we all chatted and laughed away even though it was near freezing out there. We saw a little avalanche fall from Half Dome and I got a few pictures of it, which was kind of exciting. After the sun set, a huge cloud of fog settled over the horizon and even though it was the biggest and fullest moon of the year, we couldn’t see it rising, just the illumination of it behind the fog. Okay, time for pizza and warmth.
Sunday morning, we checked out the visitor center and the Indian Museum and met an old Indian woman weaving baskets in the traditional style. At Valley View, we met a couple of crows that were more than eager to pose for us, so of course we had to oblige them and take their photograph. As we headed for home, we stopped for one last waterfall on Cascade Creek, and then headed home after a really nice weekend.
It has been foggy and dreary here in the central valley lately, so Lori and I headed off in search of the sun and whatever else may help brighten up the day. We headed towards the coast because it wasn’t raining in that direction and sometimes when we have fog, they don’t. Since it was just an exploring kinda day, we pulled off the Bay Bridge at Treasure Island on our way west to explore it, since neither of us had ever stopped there before. It’s a small man-made island that is a former Navy base (I didn’t know that) and is a good place to take skyline photos of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. We continue on and when we hit Highway 1, we head south to historic Pescadero, where we meet a couple of gentlemen working on restoring the Methodist Episcopal Church of Pescadero and prepping it for their crab feed that night. They let us look around inside and after chatting with them for a bit, they recommend the pizza at the country store as the best place for lunch and they are right, it is darned good oven baked pizza. We explore the other half Pescadero and I was thoroughly enchanted by the beautiful and neat art items available at the charming Luna Sea Gallery. Exploring a back road, we arrive at San Gregorio, a historic stagecoach stop and general store at a crossroad and there is some good live music coming from the lively general store. The music was a pleasant surprise, the strangest was the fish heads on the fencepost across the street. When I asked on of the locals enjoying the music and a brew if there was a story behind them, he just said “we don’t shoot fish out here without a good reason”… LOL! So, the story of the fish heads on the fencepost will remain a mystery to me. Next we followed signs touting the Moss Beach Distillery and learned another little bit of history. ”Frank’s Place” is no longer a distillery, it is now a restaurant on the ocean’s edge. We enjoyed the ocean view for a bit and then began our trek back home. We stopped at Treasure Island again on the way back across the bridge and practiced our night photography skills on the bridge. We didn’t totally escape the fog, but we did manage to brighten our day. ;>
On the way home from the Victorian Christmas celebration, we drove over to Dovewood Court in Orangevale, which is another of the many spots listed on the Sacramento Bee’s Holiday Light Map, and joined the long line of cars trying to get in to see the display. We found a parking spot a few blocks away and then joined the throng of walkers trying to get in to see the display. Walking got us into the court much faster than driving, definitely! Dovewood Court has been putting on an extravagant light display for many years now and they use the occasion to collect canned food for the Food for Families charity. This is such a big deal for this neighborhood, that when you buy a house on the court, you have to sign an agreement that you agree to participate, now that’s a commitment to the holiday spirit. A new addition is one of those synchronized displays to the music. I took a video of the display that was synchronized to music from the Trans Siberian Orchestra’s Wizard in Winter, but I think the one the designer took is much better (and nobody walked in front of him while filming), so here’s his video of it. Merry Christmas!
Lori and I headed up to Nevada City for their Victorian Christmas celebration. It was raining lightly with occasional downpours that lasted a few minutes, but that didn’t dampen anyone’s fun. The vendors lined the streets and Christmas music played by children filled the air. We enjoyed some excellent crepes from Calla Lily Crepes for lunch and then watched tap dancers perform in the rain (videos of them below). I also just found out that Hallmark filmed the 2006 movie “The Christmas Card” right here in Nevada City and if you’ve seen the movie, while I only saw the trailer, that is really what the town looks like. One last big downpour of rain and we head home after riding it out under one of the musician’s umbrella. Christmas is in the air!
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