The cold on your face wakes you up. Shoot, it’s still dark out. Retreat to the inner sanctum is immediate. It might be the only time that humans act like turtles. It doesn’t take long for breathing your own carbon dioxide to get old. And so you stick your face out, only exposing a little oval. Or maybe just your nose. At this point you’re relishing the moments that you can stay in your cocoon. You’re wondering how long you can stave off the desire for coffee, or how long your bladder will hold out. 🙂  Cold nose, man that didn’t take long. Turtle like, you pull your face back into your cocoon. If you fluff inside, you’ll either have to stick your face back into the cold or add your own pew to your carbon dioxide. The eventual escape from your snug and warm cocoon stares you down. Pre-dawn in Yosemite. Welcome to camping in March.

On a sunny morning in my campground, the early light hits the peaks that loom above. There’s a perfect shot of Half Dome through the trees just steps away. On a line, the base of Half Dome is about two miles away, but it feels like it could be touched. This place!

Yosemite Valley in afternoon light.  In the middle of the picture is Half Dome and beyond that the Cloud’s Rest Peaks.  On the left is El Capitan, and to the right of Half Dome, first The Cathedral, and then Bridal Veil Falls.