Sunset at Tunnel View

Seeing Friday’s Yosemite webcam, I really wanted to take a drive and hopefully photograph a sunset for myself.

My wife had the day off and suggested a trip to Hornitos with the kids. I was okay with that, since we haven’t had a family outing in a while. I didn’t mention Yosemite as an option because sometimes it’s tough to do both family activities and photography. Besides that, it was almost 2pm and we had a 2 hour drive. My wife said, lets just go to Yosemite. After several “No, let’s just stay here”, we packed up our things and drove up to Yosemite.

We found some snow along the road and let the kids play for about 45 minutes. Drove over to the village to take care of “business” and drove up to Tunnel View….later than I planned on.

Got there at 5:20 and there was one spot open, and it was on the other end of the parking lot by the tunnel. The light was already changing. Ever see how fast a guy with two fixed legs person can walk…LOL!! I almost just “camped” in the middle of the parking lot to get the first shot, but I found a spot along the wall.

I just love the little curl in the clouds!

Always check to see what’s happening behind you, especially since Tunnel View faces east.

One the way home a finally stopped in Mariposa to take this picture of the Saint Joseph’s Church.

Had a great time, despite the fact we were there for only 2-1/2 hours and Sarah got sick on the way home. She’s fine now, just car sickness. Thanks Stacy for making me go! I noticed the webcams this evening and there was no colors to see….

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Mike is a Central Valley California landscape and nature photographer whose subjects include scenes from Merced County, Yosemite, SeKi, and the eastern Sierra. He is currently living in Atwater, CA.

The text and photographs are © Copyright Mike Matenkosky (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Mike Matenkosky.

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