Posted on 02/19/2017 1:41:16 AM PST by Daffynition
While winter in Yosemite National Park offers a spectacular opportunity to witness the national park's unparalleled beauty, there's one phenomenon in particular worth planning a trip around.
During the last two weeks of February, the angle of the setting sun transforms the 2,130-foot Horsetail Falls into what many have nicknamed "The Yosemite Firefall." The effect is so convincing that it almost appears as if lava is pouring out of the granite cliffside. For photographers, this spectacle is not to be missed, with many snatching up the best spots to catch the phenomenon as early as 5 a.m. each morning.
(Excerpt) Read more at mnn.com ...
I am sure many have seen helicopters landing in the desert and the sands start glowing in a huge circle due to the piezo electric effect of the sands
Saw an entire hill side light up on lantern hill in Connecticut due to a landslide that produced a blue piezo electric effect
Then there are the glowing waves in Pensacola beach and St Elmo’s fire
The article doesn’t say that the firefall starts at 5 AM, it says that photographers occupy spots at 5 AM from which to take pictures of it. I know a few good photographers, and they would definitely wait all day for a shot like that.
I grew up in the bay area, so I remember the days when we used to visit Yosemite often, and no crowds like today.
Go in September. Best time.
I was blessed to be able to take my family for a stay in Yosemite. The memories are etched into their minds and my wife and kids talk about it even today. So very inspirational!
God is stupendous. The nature He provides for us has a million wonders just waiting to be enjoyed. It is constant amazement. The Lord gives us gifts of every kind to be enjoyed.
That said, as an old fart and native California, I well remember sitting on a roadside log with hundreds of others lining the valley road and watching the real firefalls of burning trash plunging from high above. It was nice to be a child of the 50s. So much joy and freedom that no longer exists.
I don’t visit Yosemite in summer anymore. Early spring or late fall. What you lose in access and comfort, you gain in sanity. The summer smoke fires alone are just stagnating. Haven’t gone to Yosemite in summer for ages, maybe 20 years. In fact, the 2nd to last time we went in mid-winter. We were almost the only people at the Ahwahnee Hotel and we were watching the super bowl. I guess it is not called teh Ahwahnee anymore. Some jerk stole the name.
I think they are saying that photographers stake out their spots as early as 5 am in order to make sure they have a good spot to get those shots when sunset rolls around.
It’s kind of like people camping outside the Apple store for days to get the newest iPhone.
My father told me that.
Looks like folks trying to get into Woodstock....only the folks look a bit different.
An enhanced photograph from K-Mart photog studio. LOL
As much as I diss Cali...it is a beautiful, beautiful state.
I especially love the trees, north of SF. Gorgeous. Yosemite is a gem; except for all the *people*.
I’m glad we *old farts* have such treasured memories of the way things *were*. Good stuff.
:)
There was a rock band * Firefall * in the 70s, that borrowed its name from the Yosemite firefall.
“Yosemite is soooo gorgeous!!! Everyone must go!”
The first time I went there was decades ago as a young teenager. I always had vivid memories of just how unbelievably beautiful it was. But human nature is human nature and we tend to make things from the past look better and better over the years.
Went back a few years ago...I guess Yosemite was an exception. It was even more stunning than I remembered. Say what we might about California here, but they have two things that simply cannot be matched anywhere else in the country - incredible scenery, and great places to eat!
In those interim decades, I lived in Southern California for 10 years. It sucked...when you work there, not fun, and lots of taxes and other overcharges (like gasoline, for example). But if you visit - a whole different world. No state taxes (beyond sales taxes) and time to actually see and enjoy its beauty.
Yeah, better to see it on the internet with someone else’s photos. Definitely.
Hiking up Cadillac Mountain to see the sunrise over the Atlantic at the break of dawn, was a waste of time, now that you mention it.
One of my big disappointments was going in October to visit the fire cliffs of Mongolia. At sunset, they become red like fire.
But when we arrived at sunset, it was cloudy. So what I saw looked more like this:
Not that the cliffs were without their excitement. I saw a Google Streetview truck there for the second time in my Mongolian adventure, demonstrating that no place on earth is too remote for Google. And my guide and I did have a nice time climbing around the cliffs.
As a teen I remember seeing the burning ember “fire fall” on a camping trip to Yosemite. I really like the pictures of natural one.
When I visited Yosemite in 1957 and 1960, I saw the real Fire Fall, in which hot coals were pushed over a cliff. This event long ago fell victim to environmentalist wackos.
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