On the banks of the Merced River within Yosemite Valley, early morning light sometimes finds its way over the canyon walls in a way that showers all that below it. Interwoven mist and light illuminate the Merced River.
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Yosemite Gem
The mysterious Mt Watkins. Tucked back behind the more prominent features of Yosemite Valley. Standing opposite of Half Dome along the Tenaya Canyon, it has a character all its own. For generations, you see sketches and photos of this monolith in Yosemite without as much fanfare or notoriety as the others such as El Cap, Three Brothers, Sentinel Royal Arches, and Half Dome.
Sway & Persuasion
More than once today, I’ve thought about our time in the mountains for all these years. A blessing and a privilege, or a gift because of unmerited favor. Whether by grace or circumstance, did we really orchestrate circumstances to see what we have seen, feel, and understand what was upon us? What I am very much grateful for is common for some, I suppose.
Yosemite’s inspiration and awe are just as strong today as it was well over 15 years ago. I can remember hiking back from Harden lake in Yosemite and taking a rest under a tree. It was an overnight backpack, and I was exhausted, but not quite back to the trailhead. Under the tree with my back at rest against the trunk, I looked up at the leaves and branches swaying in the breeze straight above me. I could feel the same breeze with my eyes closed, but while soaked and in over my head with where I was at. The breeze didn’t just make its way over me but through me. And I think just maybe it was more than the wind of nature but something more where the wind reaches the soul, with its sway and persuasion.
Something happened that day right then and there. Something changed and that is when it all began.
