Snowplay
We could not have asked for better weather than we had during our short stay. Days and nights were very mild by Sierra winter standards; daytime temperatures were in the 40's and muted sunlight decorated the valley with a variety of glows. Snow on the valley floor was thigh-deep at most -- and just the right consistency for building snowmen!
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A friendly German tourist took this picture of us on a footbridge over the Merced River; Half Dome is in the background.
Diane the snow-sculptress. Hildegaard (the larger) was still enjoying her view of Half Dome from the meadow when we left on December 26th.
A true Christmas tree.
Stuck in the snow. A little black spot near the woods in the first picture is enhanced in the second: a coyote ambling along through the meadow. It would stop every now and again, looking around at the few two-legged frolickers, but generally not showing much evidence of concern. I suppose it thought we were too big to eat, too clumsy to be a threat, and too cheap to give it any goodies. (We were pleased that no one tried to feed it. In fact, the humans there all seemed very well-behaved throughout our stay.)
Bionic Woman's new titanium knee served her well on our first major outing since its installation in April. Here she is, trudging across Sentinel Meadow into the sunset, leaving her exhausted husband behind.