Yosemite National Park, Daytime

" For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

-Romans 1:20

It seems to be a consensus that Yosemite National  Park is perhaps one of the most beautiful natural spots on this planet. The numbers of people that visit Yosemite each year will vouch for that.

Most people who sojourn there, do so in the summer months and in late spring. Visiting during the winter affords one the delectable pleasure of very few visitors during the weekday; weekends though, are another story altogether. 

These photos were taken in the dead of winter back in 2008. Yosemite Valley, being situated at a mean elevation of roughly 4,000 feet, make it quite rare that mounds and masses of snow gather to any appreciable depth at this latitude. On the average, as weather systems move in and dump snow, it then proceeds to melt immediately when the sun reappears. At times, the fronts are not cold enough to produce snow, only to cause it to rain on the valley.

I was fortunate to visit during February at the same time a cold front was moving through, adding about six inches of new snow on an existing base of roughly eighteen inches. 

Doing some exploring on a mountain slope between Bridalveil Falls and Tunnel View, I came across an area within the small boulders and scree that covered the lower section of a mountain slope that was festooned with this beautiful moss covering just about everything in the vicinity. Located under a dense canopy of pine and hardwood trees, the shade and retention of moisture afforded an ideal environment for it to flourish.

Looking at Half Dome from a bridge spanning the Merced River below it.

View of Yosemite Falls looking up through the valley floor pines using a wide angle lens.

The peaceful Merced River flowing alongside the base of Cathedral Rocks.