Bubbles the Mallard

It was a cool morning around Lake Balboa and as I sat with Steve at his usual spot he pointed to a mallard that had a very odd shape beak looking like a nasty tumor.

“Bubble Beak or Bubbles for short, barely eats on dry land unlike other mallards because of this tumor. It prevents him from eating normally and he has to labor hard to get something in his mouth” said Steve “but he eats well in the water”.

I also heard that a biologist there stated that nothing can be done to save the poor creature and it looks like he might not going to survive long. Lets hope he will, he looks so happy.  

Watching this Mallard suffering made us all a bit sad, but this mallard is a survivor and he is seen swimming around the lake happily like any other mallard there. Such a survivor.

Tuolumne Meadows - Dana and Lyell Forks

From Soda Springs and Parson’s Lodge we continued on Tioga Road to Tuolumne River. We parked at Dog Lake parking lot and walked a short distance to the John Muir Trail head.

We were hiking along the Tuolumne River on our way to Dana Fork. It was a beautifully scenic trail that offered dramatic and expensive views of glacially carved mountains, alpine and sub-alpine meadows, and lots of stunning rock formation both in and out the water.

At about .3 mile we reached the Dana Bridge, a small wooden foot bridge over the Tuolumne River, when you at it from the side it looks like this bridge was built in an angle. It is surrounded by toll pine trees and interesting boulders nicely shaped by wind and water completes the scenes.

At about a little bit more than .5 miles we reached the Lyell Bridge which span over the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River. Actually it is two wooden bridges span over the fork.

 

The views from Lyell Bridge are dramatic and postcard likes, and the colors were astonishing. Glacially carved mountains and ridge lines, alpine and sub-alpine meadows, toll pine trees, green lush meadows and of course Lembert Dome in the background was views that made us feel like we want to stay there longer.

Yosemite National Park - The Tunnel View

Knowing that the Tunnel View is a must see spot in the Yosemite Valley we made it our top of the list places to visit. We drove on Wawona Road and soon as we got out of the tunnel we made a left turn and parked in the designated parking lot.

This was really the place to take our “money shot” pictures since it is one of the most picturesque spot in Yosemite, with El Capitan, Half Dome, and Bridalveil Fall in the background.

We were speechless looking at the scene and felt like John Muir knew what he was doing when he fought to preserve Yosemite as a National Park, we are so lucky to have such an incredible place to visit here in California.

It doesn’t matter how many times we will visit Yosemite National Park, we always going to be thrilled and awed by this view coming through the tunnel.

Yosemite National Park - Riding Stables

I love to watch horses and mules, but not to ride them. I personally think that if you are not trained to ride them and don’t have enough experience to go with your training it will be dangerous to try. I came to Yosemite to have lots of fun without taking too much of a dangerous risks, especially when I'm not trained to take it.

I decided to visit the Yosemite Valley Stables out of curiosity. I wanted to observe the way riders as well as animals are been prepared for the ride and how many animals usually included in a typical mule train.

The animals were assigned based on the rider’s age, riding ability and the degree of difficulty of the trail the rider chooses. Also each rider got a helmet for protection and all the necessary information and riding instruction as well.

Each animal had a different saddle, and they were roped together, literally tied nose to tail; one behind another with the guide packer leads the pack mules to the trail.

I spent there almost two hours and learned how the mules and horses are being prepared for each trip, what kind of equipment they wear and how they are being matched with the riders.

While I was watching the show it got even better, a pair of mule deer bucks showed up and without any hesitation strolled back and fourth undisturbed. I got pretty close to them and snap a few pictures, than they just continued on their journey, and disappeared in the near forest.