Dear Diary,
I returned home over the weekend for a friend’s wedding celebration. In addition to the celebratory food and drink I inhaled at her party, I also inhaled the beauty of autumn in Yosemite. Naturally, I Insta’d as much as I could. After all, if a tree exists in a forest but you don’t Instagram it, does it really exist? (No).
Yosemite Falls, minus the falls.
Yosemite’s famous lone maple tree. It sits by itself at the edge of the field, telling everyone when fall arrives. It wears the brightest colors in Yosemite, which reminds me a lot of myself as a Yosemite teenager.
I have no idea what amazing child made this awesome horseplate but if I were a fancy gallerist I’d totally put this in my fancy gallery.
When you live in Yosemite, you get used to seeing deer outside your windows. In fact, we refer to them as “Forest Rats.”
Autumn colors in Yosemite tend to be neon yellows and greens. Not a lot of bright red like you see back East.
“Hey Girl. You going to eat that whole apple? We hungry.”
In Yosemite, you don’t really drive to the store unless it’s snowing, so when I came across this must-have pumpkin, I took it home on my bicycle.
The greys and yellows make for a glamourous fall color palette.
Here’s a deer eating something. Boring.
Fun Fall-Winter drink: Mulled apple cider with brandy. I haven’t liked Brandy this much since Moesha. This drink is even more fun in a seasonally inappropriate Santa Mug (we’ve had this one since I was born).
The drive home, up California’s iconic Grapevine Freeway. Pretty ugly, right?
Wherever you are, run toward the closest forest and look for some fall color. Hurry!
Love,
Orlando
“I haven’t liked Brandy this much since Moesha.” Yes, yes, yes. Thank you.
agreed. so amazing. you are the best!
Agreed, here too. Your wit has no end in brilliance & your memory must be a steel trap!! Moesha!! Great snippets like that reviving lost tidbits of awkward youth.. priceless. Thank you. 🙂
Holy John Muir! You grew up IN Yosemite? As a National Park junkie, I – literally – could not be more jealous.
Beautiful pics, BTW. I love how Instagram adds a sense of history to every photo; like you found them in a shoe-box when you returned home. Hmm… cutting-edge technology that makes things feel old. Is that progress?
Beautiful photos.
I adore your posts of home in Yosemite. And that pumpkin, too.
We had some pretty nice weather & colors during our fall peak in northern Minnesota and did some kayaking to a place called the Joyce Estate, which is a 4,500 acre piece of pristine wilderness once owned by a family who built themselves a remote rustic/posh resort where they threw elaborate parties & hosted celebrities in the Roaring 20’s. It’s a gem. And few people even know it’s there. But you should! It seems to say Orlando all over it.
http://ourfunwithfive.blogspot.com/2012/10/portage-paddle-trout-lake-sna-joyce.html