Tioga Pass Opens Today!

[tgtaylor]

At noon according to this mornings news. It was open for bicycles last weekend when I was in the park. Dogwood had past but the waterfalls were peaking and the Merced had swollen so that I could get a shot El Capitan from its bank in portrait form with a Nikkor 120SW without getting the bank in the shot. The 120SW allows for more rise than you would think: IIRC, I had close to max rise with the MII in drop bed position.

Thomas loop

[John Kasaian]

I wonder if the Whoa Nellie Deli is open in Lee Vining? It's almost lunch time!

[Drew Wiley]

Lunch? Try the breakfast burrito first.

[John Kasaian]

Lunch? Try the breakfast burrito first.

I don't recall ever having the breakfast burrito. I'll bet they are good!
The lobster taquitos and ice cold cerveza are memorable, especially after sugar anting an 8x10 around the Hoover Wilderness.

[karl french]

Based on the forecast I wouldn't be surprised if the pass closes again for a short time this weekend. And, yes, I look forward to those breakfast burritos each summer.

[John Kasaian]

That does it!
I've got to try the breakfast burrito this year!

[dasBlute]

I'm a Mono-Cone burger man myself :)

[karl french]

So many temptations await in the Eastern Sierra.

[Jmarmck]

This is so true.

[Drew Wiley]

There was once a fantastic breakfast-only joint just outside Big Pine. Probably gone by now. Bridgeport had a decent Mexican restaurant not far from the FS Station. I've never had good luck in Bishop. Mammoth had (has?) Annie's Kitchen. But just about anything tastes good after two weeks or freeze-dried whatever
cooked outside a tent flap in falling snow. Maybe I should start packing fishing gear again. But the best time of day for fishing competes with the best time for
photo light.

[John Kasaian]

There was once a fantastic breakfast-only joint just outside Big Pine. Probably gone by now. Bridgeport had a decent Mexican restaurant not far from the FS Station. I've never had good luck in Bishop. Mammoth had (has?) Annie's Kitchen. But just about anything tastes good after two weeks or freeze-dried whatever
cooked outside a tent flap in falling snow. Maybe I should start packing fishing gear again. But the best time of day for fishing competes with the best time for
photo light.
IIRC there is Schaatz Bakery in Bishop.

[Drew Wiley]

That one never impressed me personally.

[Nodda Duma]

I miss the breakfast burritos and the burrito colorados at Bernadino's Restaurant (Two Sisters Cafe) in Inyokern. I would get a breakfast burrito almost every morning on the way to work, and I've never had or been able to replicate their Colorado sauce.

[Bill Burk]

That one never impressed me personally.

Maybe because Schat's is more of a bakery, it won't impress you as a restaraunt. But their shepherder's bread is one of my life-long favorites. One of life's little pleasures...

[Bill Burk]

I'll be in the valley next week, with about 45 teenagers. They forced me to sign a waiver so I can't get away from my captors.

I'll try to escape every chance I get. Twilight is 5:10 and Sunrise at 5:40am - kids get up at 6:30... How far can I get on foot from Camp Curry... Can I make it to three brothers and back?

[tgtaylor]

I'm heading over now! Going to shoot El Cap from the river with the Nikkor 120-SW on a 5x7 back - it's too small with the 8x10 back and I don't have a 180 or 165.

Thomas

[tgtaylor]

Are there any new commercial flight restrictions in place for Yosemite? This is the second weekend that there were no commercial flights going over El Capitan. I thought the last weekend was a fluke but again today there were no flights above El Cap and consequently no contrails to dodge. The Nikkor 120SW on 5x7 reducing back was the perfect lens for the shot. Gonna develop the negatives for alternative printing in a few minutes.

Thomas

[Bill Burk]

Awesome!!! I'm loading the Grafmatics now... But still don't know if/when I'll get to see El Cap... Over dinner my buddy was telling me I ought to develop the film while I'm up there... So I'm daydreaming about what it would take... Nikor, a bottle of D-76 and fix. Thermometer and darkbag. Maybe a sheet of glass, some blueprint paper and some clothespins.

[tgtaylor]

I just finished processing and the Jobo is draining. The negatives (Ilford FP4+) came out perfect: The Nikkor 120SW with the 5x7 reducing back gave the composition of El Cap and Cathedral Rock from the Merced that I was looking for: El Cap towering tall and majestic over the Merced and the closer view of Cathedral Rock eliminated a lot of dark unsightly space in the foreground.

Thomas

[Drew Wiley]

A couple friends of mine already hiked out to the top of Cloud's Rest a week ago. Not a good idea this immediately past weekend, or Memorial Day either. High
lightning storm risk along that long ridge or analogous high spots. But per planes, Thomas, I doubt there are any formal restrictions about ruining our sky shots. Most of the time I've flown between the Bay Area and anywhere East, the airliner went right over the Valley. I always booked a window seat for the view. Changes in the jet stream or weather in general might affect specific flight paths. I've been cursing jet contrails in the Sierra long before I ever owned a camera.

[Bill Burk]

I had a blast last week in the valley. The valley was comfortable with clouds, occasional sprinkles and no contrails. The big attractions were crowded as expected, but most of the places that NatureBridge took the kids and us chaperones... practically nobody goes to see. I mentioned wanting to see some "pounding rocks" and we worked that in the first day. After class was done Tuesday, I borrowed a buddy's van and drove down to get a shot of "Three Brothers" from the El Capitan side of the Merced (I had 45 minutes until I had to get back to get kids ready for dinner, it would have been impossible to walk or shuttle in time). I had the place to myself as I wandered around looking for a suitable foreground out of a variety of brown and green trees. I pondered whether I wanted the beautiful or the ugly, then as I wandered through stands of manzanita I decided that's what it needed.

I've always avoided the park because of the crowds and rules... But I kept thinking as we walked around everywhere this past week... why didn't anybody tell me it could be this much fun?