On Christmas morning I got up early to hike to the Tenaya Waterfall. It was a gorgeous walk - iced over and slushy when I started out in the pre-dawn, but gradually becoming less trampled-on and fluffier as I went along. It was just 5 miles round trip and flat, but took me a full 2 hours. I very much wish I'd brought a camera, and never had an opportunity to return.
Untouched snow and ice. By the last half mile, the only footprints I saw belonged to a dog. A 10 foot curtain of icicles down the side of a rock. Running over the rocks was water that looked clear and clean as rainwater. Trees with shrugs of snow. Trees in every direction.
As I returned I finally saw my first person of the day (and his dog). I completely forgot to say Merry Christmas.
Back at the room, there was another surprise from Ace.
This is my online Thank You to Ace - for a divine bouquet (that smelled gorgeous) and fuzzy toe socks that kept me warm!
The family went to church at Our Lady of the Sierra, which might be the most beautiful church I've been in. Not because the building was beautiful, but because it didn't try to compete with the majesty of the surrounding scenery - trees and mountains and crisp clear sky as far as the eye could see. Not only were there windows along the entirety of the side walls, but the entire wall behind the alter was clear glass. It reminded me of a line I heard from an artist with whom I was on a camping trip. She was talking about trying to sketch mountains in Colorado as we went along and remarked that all she was trying to do was "make nature's masterpiece my own." I loved that the church just incorporated the view, instead of trying to draw the eye away from it.
It was so bright out there you can't see the view in these pictures, but you can see the enormous windows.
We had a couple of hours before Mom, Dad and my brother went in for their scheduled massages, so decided to climb the 2 mile hill to the Maraposa Grove to see the giant sequoias.
We used up all our time, but the fresh air and the common purpose did us good.
Do you know how big those sequoias are??
Do you see my brother?
Here we all are.
The way back down.
I saw this snowman on the way down. Also very large (I made that teenager stand there for scale).
The evening was quiet, we ate dinner, opened presents, and played three rounds of Yahtzee. My brother watched Hairspray (the Ricky Lake version) while I fell asleep.
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