Twilight Clouds, Unicorn Peak. Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park, California. July 3, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

The story: Sometimes the light only gets interesting after the sun sets. On this early summer evening I was at the west end of Tuolumne Meadows taking photographs across the meadow to the northeast as the sun set over a period of an hour or more. Just after the list light left the peaks of Mts. Gibb and Dana, it struck this very high cloud formation to the southeast. This photograph also shows a condition that many August visitors to Tuolumne Meadows may not be aware of; during the early summer season there can be so much water in the meadow that one is tempted to refer to the area as Tuolumne Lake.
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Mammoth Peak, Tarn. Yosemite National Park, California. July 3, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

The story: I made an early season trip over Tioga Pass during early July 2006, when there was still quite a bit of snow. The road had only been opened a short time and there was water everywhere from the snowmelt. This small tarn is a short walk from Tioga Pass.
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Outlet Pond, Fletcher Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. September 11, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

The story: This small pond is actually the lower end of Fletcher Lake, located in the Yosemite backcountry near the Vogelsang High Sierra Camp. I had followed the receding line of last light across the meadow behind me, and this was the final light at the end of the lake.
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Frost and Fog, Sunrise. Yosemite National Park. October 7, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

The story: I was driving up to the Tuolumne Meadows area to meet a backpacking buddy for our final pack trip of the 2006 season. I had heard reports of snow on the road and a temporary closure so I decided not to leave for the mountains the night before but to instead get up very early and drive straight up to the trailhead. I drove into the park and turned left onto Tioga Pass Road… only to come to a road closure a mile later. I had just seen this foggy, frost-covered meadow which, on a typical drive to a pack trip I might have passed, thinking, “I really should stop and take a photo.” With the road closed, I had no excuse so I pulled out the camera and tripod and wandered off into the frost covered grasses.
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