beauty

The Great Yosemite Adventures of 2022

hoosierchild

Around the Summer Solstice in June 2022, an incredible human, Ranger Reuben, a dear cousin and fellow Bloomington, Ind., native, led me on a mind-blowing adventure around some of the stunning natural treasures of Yosemite National Park.

These days were laced with life highlights at a mind-bending rate and I have here tried to catalog and preserve an overwhelming media load collected during five jam-packed days of excursion, expedition and excitement in one of the most magnificent natural regions of The Americas.

June, 19, 2022 — Yosemite Day One

From the sights out of my plane windows from Indy to Fresno via Arizona on to my first steps into the world of Yosemite National Park, the sights were blowing my mind in an endless barrage. Because I’d delayed packing, I’d hit the airport in the wee hours of the morning on one hour of sleep, but the excitement of the scenery kept me buzzing like an Italian espresso stand.

June, 20, 2022 — Yosemite Day Two, Orientation Continues

June, 20, 2022 — Yosemite Day Two, Part Two: Appreciating the Native Ahwahnechee Roots of Yosemite

June, 20, 2022 — Yosemite Day Two, Part Three: Cook’s Meadow. Behold the magnificence Yosemite Falls and its environs!

June, 20, 2022 — Yosemite Day Two, Part Four: The Ahwahnee Wows!

June, 20, 2022 —Yosemite Day Two, Part Five: Olmstead Point Lizard Hunter 🙂

June, 20, 2022 — Yosemite Day Two, Part Six: Tioga Pass and High Country

June, 20, 2022 — Yosemite Day Two, Part Seven: Heaven on Earth, Olmstead Point at Sunset

June, 21, 2022 — Yosemite Day Three, Part One: The Hike Begins Up the Four-Mile Trail toward Glacier Point

June, 21, 2022 — Yosemite Day Three, Part Two: The Four-Mile Hike Becomes a 16-Mile Summer Solstice Spirit Quest

June, 22, 2022 — Yosemite Day Four, Part One: Recovery Day, Maxin’ and Relaxin’

June, 22, 2022 — Yosemite Day Four, Part Two: Recovery Continues: Swinging Bridge, Mirror Lake and El Capitan Climbers Camping on the Monolith

June 23, 2022 — Yosemite Day Five, Part One: Coffee & Rain (No action, just a moment of zen)

June 23, 2022 — Yosemite Day Five, Part Two: Lee’s Vining Latte and Mammoth Lake Trails

June 23, 2022 — Yosemite Day Five, Part Three: Devils Postpile, geologic geometry

June 23, 2022 — Yosemite Day Five, Part Four: Heaven for Lunch (Ohana’s at June Lake post postpile)

June 23, 2022 — Yosemite Day Five, Part Five: Mono Lake is Out Of This World!

June 23, 2022 — Yosemite Day Five, Part Six: Volcano, Bear, Coffee (and, to top it off) Waterfall

P.S.

A note to this post’s general audience:


Reuben (the son of my mother’s sister, Sarah) has one of the most motivating takes on life I’ve ever encountered. He has manifested an amazing will to live through a litany of life challenges that could seriously derail a person’s ability to carry on. For example: As a boy, his primary love was baseball, yet his playing career was cut short in high school when he was forced to endure a leg amputation to save his life from cancer. These days, this 44-year-old is dealing with organ failure. PEOPLE, PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING TO HELP SUPPORT THIS FABULOUS HUMAN WHO IS MONTH AFTER MONTH DOING HIS OWN DIALYSIS DAILY AS HE AWAITS A KIDNEY DONATION FOR TRANSPLANT. You can reach him by mail at P.O. Box 253, El Portal, CA, 95318. If you prefer Venmo, his handle is: @Reuben-Cochran-1. How you donate is up to you! He’d be happy to receive anything: words of support, cash … a kidney!

Butterflies crushed, lifted

hoosierchild

                                        Aug. 10, 2020

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m calling this an eastern black swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes asterius. The resurrected butterfly was yellow…

A recent jog in Monroe County took me down a country road running through one of the most picturesque valleys in the state and maybe the world. The beautiful, wooded hills of southern Indiana are full of breathtaking vantage points, but this particular valley runs deepest in my heart. I grew up transversing this place by foot, by bike and car.


After returning from dreamlike scenes in Brazil, I came home to run through the Brummett’s Creek valley and was blown away anew by its lushness…the Hoosier Jungle blooming in thick layers under a hazy mist as a rose and orange sunset glowed. Herds of deer observed me rolling through their territory.

The valley uplifts me and I was attempting last week to work through knee pain on a 5-mile walk/run to State Road 46, which marks the southern termination of Brummetts Creek Road.

On the jog, I passed a beautiful butterfly that looked like it had recently been hit. It lay lifeless on the road, but not crushed. Perhaps I could display its beautiful body instead of leaving it to be smeared into the hot asphalt like the snake I found further up the road. As I stepped to scoop it into my hands, it gave a small flutter.

A tenth of a mile down the road, a rumbling pickup truck rounded the corner, heading toward me.

The butterfly lifted itself off the road, but was still dazed and confused and not moving far from the spot where it lifted off. By now, the truck’s occupants realized an unusual lady was in the road. It slowed to a stop as I gave them a wave and managed to herd to butterfly off the road and into the grassy ditch. Two good old boys in the truck humored me pretty well. As they rolled by when I got out of their way, the guy in the passenger side leans out and says, “I like nature too, but….” He gave his head a slight shake and seemed to chuckle as they went on their way.

Then they were off. I completed my jog and in the final stretch found a butterfly who had actually given up the ghost on the driveway. I scooped it up. The beauty of God’s creation glowing in my hand. A vital thread running through life, weaving lives together even as we shed our skins, our shells, or wings. Does a spirit really need anything to fly?

A Hoosier Citizen video update: “Pop up artwork on Kirkwood as Covid-19 rages on” on YouTube – and more!

hoosierchild

Welcome to a Thursday afternoon in the heart of Btown (even though I errantly open my video with a “Happy Wednesday!” I scored some dope artwork, I think. It speaks to a certain mood I’m feeling.

Homeless artist David Ortiz Pino displayed a pop up art gallery on Kirkwood Avenue as Covid continued to rage state and nation-wide.

I purchased the drawing on the left and he gifted the drawing on the right.

Here are so additional scenes from the day…

An artist and his work. July 23, 2020.
Need to feel good for cheap? Landlocked Music can help! Steps from the Courthouse! http://www.landlockedmusic.com
Right on, Dionne! Let’s “Go with love!”
Some spoils of my retail therapy session in support of some of my favorite Downtown Bloomington businesses. Thank you, Landlocked Music and The Book Corner! http://thebookcorneronline.com/
Some sort of eggs incubating at Hash Road.
Rebecca Townsend walking Kirkwood, assessing her hometown scene in Downtown Bloomington, Indiana.
Turtle log is one source of zen reflection on Lake Alison. The Hash Road Hardwood Preserve offers a relaxing break from covid craziness. Need a mudbath or a swim? Need a hike in the woods or a paddleboard? Nature heals. https://www.facebook.com/1541417126106182/