Lake Yosemite at Sunset

I drove out to Lake Yosemite in Merced to photograph the Lunar Eclipse that morning. I also planned on photographing the moonrise that evening from the same location. I should have just stayed at the park all day! I went back around 3:30 and parked at the back side of the lake, at the Old Lake Road parking lot. I wanted to use the old tower as a focal point so I walked the dirt road until I got to the tower. I rarely see the lake that calm (water), so it was a nice treat.

I got a few photos, including the sunset. Only 15 minutes to go until I should see the moon. All of a sudden I say a maintenance truck in the parking lot and I heard voices asking about whose van is that. It was mine. I didn’t realize they locked the gate at 5pm, so I had to “run” back to the van before they locked me in for the night.

As I was “running” back, I’d stop and see if the moon was visible. It wasn’t. There was a low bank of clouds that obscured it. Only until I got half way home did I finally see it, but it was too late.

Going to try again next month, this time I’ll park the van outside the gate like some of the other fishermen!

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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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