Change Your Perspective

Lodgepole Pine Reflection in Dog Lake
Lodgepole Pine Reflection in Dog Lake by John P. DeGrazio

Reflections in Dog Lake
By John P. DeGrazio

I was in my daughter’s classroom last night for an open house and observed a bulletin board full of paintings by the students for the first time. I was fascinated by all the wonderful drawings and asked the teacher how long they have been there. Since I volunteer in her class every Monday, I was a little embarrassed that I had never noticed this wall that displayed their artwork. I make sure to say hello to the children with every visit, but then I focus on the station where I am working and often forget about many other areas of the classroom. Then it had me thinking about how we approach our everyday lives and the tasks we set out to achieve. This is also true on long challenging hikes in Yosemite. We often are so focused on the goal, we can easily forget many of the things that attract us to these wonderful places. Sure, the waterfalls and majestic mountaintops are truly spectacular, but let’s not forget about the little things that make the trip so special. Maybe it’s a small flower, a pine cone on the trail, or a reflection in a lake. Sometimes we have to trip over them just to know they are there. Beauty is everywhere, and it’s up to us to take the time and find it.

Feed from YExplore Adventure Blog: http://yexplore.com/adventure-blog/.

 

 

Yosemite Instagram Week in Review: Photos From an iPhone 4.21-5.04

Dogwoods in Bloom

By John P. DeGrazio

courtesy of http://instagram.com/yexplore (if you’d like to follow)

All photos taken on an iPhone 5

Merced River Dogwoods by John P. DeGrazio
Merced River Dogwoods by John P. DeGrazio

Since we didn’t update last week in anticipation of this new site, here is a bonus double issue style Instagram update:

Feed from YExplore Adventure Blog: http://yexplore.com/adventure-blog/.

Welcome to the New Age

YExplorelogo_yosemiteIf you are reading this, I would like to thank you for finding us on our newly designed YExplore website and blog. I woke up with the sound of “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons in my head. While I don’t quite think it’s quite the apocalypse, it is a revolution of sorts. We are calling it the Adventure Blog and were formerly the Yosemite Photo Blog. We still plan on being Yosemite-centric, but you will see some new adventures listed on this site now and some more to possibly come in the next 24 months so stay tuned. What we will continue to provide is photo driven adventures in Yosemite and beyond. Please stick around, bookmark the new blog site, and come back often. Oh yea, there’s one more thing. Please be patient as you poke around some of the new features of the website. It is a work in progress, and we could only build out the framework before migrating the entire site. You will notice some of the older pages are still alive so enjoy them while they’re around, but this is definitely the New Age! Thank you all.

Happy Birthday John Muir

Yosemite Falls and Half Dome
Yosemite Falls and Half Dome by John P. DeGrazio

Today is April 21, and we all should celebrate the life of a man who helped shape the modern conservation movement. He influenced congress, lobbied presidents, and was a major influence on the shaping of our National Parks. Happy Birthday John Muir from your former home in Yosemite Valley.