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| Ken and I can't believe we are really here! |
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| Driving towards the trailhead! |
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| The waterfalls from a distance during our drive! |
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| A look towards the reservoir which is 8 miles long and is the largest single body of water within the national park. |
We parked near the reservoir and to get on the trail you had to walk "across" the dam and then through a tunnel to get to the beginning of the trailhead. It was a beautiful hike and the tunnel added to the fun. The trail was a variety of terrain including a sandy section, then rocky areas, bridges, and a section that felt like the forest. During the hike, we saw many gorgeous wildflowers and even 2 mule deer. You "botanists" can tell me the name of these flowers. I am not sure what they are but they sure are beautiful!
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| Getting ready to walk "across" the dam! |
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| A view of the falls from the dam! Looks rather small! |
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| Water coming out a pipe from the dam. |
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| Looks so peaceful and calm. This dam was completed in 1923 and the final phase raising the height of the dam was completed in 1938. The 117 billion gallon reservoir supplies pristine drinking water to 2.4 million Bay Area residents and industrial users. |
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| What a tunnel! |
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| Go Chuck, go! |
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| Still looks serene! |
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| We are loving this hike! |
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| This one was really unusual! |
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| I think these might be bleeding hearts! |
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| The red center was so pretty1 |
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| These were unusual! |
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| Every time Ken made a bird whistle the deer would turn and look at him! |
The reward for the hike was going around a corner and getting a phenomenal view of the Wapama Falls. In the spring, two of North America's tallest waterfalls plummet spectacularly over thousand-foot granite cliffs. The dramatic domes surrounding these waterfalls add to the grandeur. Today the Wapama Fall had so much water flowing, but the Tueeulala Falls only had a relatively small flow of water.
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| The Tueeulala Fall was only a "trickle", but aren't the stripes on the rocks pretty??? |
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| Our 1st close-up view of the Wapama Fall! |
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| Wow, it was powerful! |
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| It flowed in so many different directions! |
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| Breathtaking!!! |
When we returned to the car, we decided to eat our lunch at a nearby picnic table. By then it was 3:15 - is it lunch or dinner?????? We were back to the CG around 5 after a fun day of hiking and enjoying the beauty of Yosemite. Almost as soon as we parked at Waldo, the rain started again! I thought it never rains in California????? What is all this rain about?????
We grilled dinner and then got together for some game playing. Tomorrow we hope to do some bike riding in the valley of the park.
OK, you asked! From what I can see on the photos, the first purple flowers look like grape hyacynths. The one you thought is a bleeding heart....I can't get a real clear pic of the flower but the leaves (and flower) look like a coral bell variety, & finally my last flower input is the last one pictured if I remember right, the yellow with yellow middle looks like coreopsis, possibly moonlight coreopsis. I would love to see them all in person!! Some of those flowers are probably specific to that part of the Country. (PS: I am sure the Californians are glad you are bringing the rain since they have been in a drought for years!)
ReplyDeleteOops....forgot to put my name to above..,.Doloris!
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