Yosemite Work Week, July 13-14, 2004

    Tuesday, July 13

  1. The massive base of a giant Sequoia. The Grizzly Giant in Yosemite might be 2,700 years old (although some people have placed it at 1,600 years. Let's say 2,000 years old.) These beasts grow to be 30 feet across, 300 feet high, 3,000 years old: the largest living thing by volume. They have shallow roots and are given to tipping over. Well, not that much, since they're standing after 2,700 years, but ...

  2. Noreen gets us oriented in the morning.

  3. Mariposa lily.

  4. If you see piles of massive granite rocks, you know you are in the Sierra Nevada.

  5. The unique and beautiful bark of the Sequoia.

  6. The same tree - I pulled back a bit, to give context.

  7. Baby Sequoia, and, an ex-Sequoia. The babies are almost perfectly conical.

  8. Now, the point of this photo is the perfectly angular sparse tree in the distance - a young Sequoia. You can practially pick them out by their "perfect Christmas tree" shape ... although they are arguably a bit stretched out and tall for any but the most monstrous of ballrooms.

  9. Lupins!

  10. The moss on the tree branches leans down to embrace the fresh lavendar exuberance of the lupin patch. This is an art shot (tm).

  11. But we are not just out here to gawk at nature's wonders. No. We are here to do battle. Jerry approaches a bull thistle (exotic; invasive; needs to be eradicated) with only one thought in mind.

  12. I am a horrible person because i do not remember the name of the person on the left. This is during our gala dinner on Tuesday night. The tiny person in the middle is 89-year old Celia, drama grad student from Stanford in the 30s, (or something close to that), and the person on the right is Verle from Los Gatos. Here's an unbelievable but true fact: Celia and I were born in the same hospital, Ideal Hospital in Endicott, New York. A few years apart.

  13. Beth Pratt, VP of Yosemite Association, cheers us on.

  14. Here's the difference between me and a journalist. A journalist would have written down the names of these wonderful people as they got up in turn to talk to us about volunteering. I did not.

  15. The little kidlet gets started early on dishes.

  16. Uh oh. Delaware North Corporation guy gets up to remind us they're there to turn a profit. My hackles are raised unnecessarily. I'm sure he's a great guy. I'm just suspicious of DNC. And I really think they should clean up and fix up the Wawona showers.

  17. Noreen and Beth trade hand signals.

  18. The little kidlet has moved onto earth-moving. He is nothing if not dedicated.

  19. A better shot of Noreen, our leader, and Beth, our moral support from YA.

  20. Hilarity reigns.

    Wednesday, July 14:

  21. In the morning, the sun on the pebbles in the Merced River creates a green shimmering silverly pool.

  22. Looking downriver, on the Merced River, in mid-July. This is the river that babbled just feet away from our tents in the Wawona campground.

  23. Jean and Verle wash dishes.

  24. And in case there was any doubt ... this shot give you a peek at those dishes themselves.


Marianne Mueller
Last modified: July 21, 2004