Above is this weeks free desktop. Back this week to one of my favorite parks and definitely one of finest parks in America, Yosemite National Park. This park was formed in 1890 to preserve this spectacular portion of the Sierra Nevada which contains staggering waterfalls, lush alpine meadows, giant 1000+ year old sequoias, and some very intriguing, world famous formations of rock. Yosemite has inspired poets, painters, visitors and photographers, including my favorite, Ansel Adams, and I must admit, me. Now, one of the most popular sections of this park is Yosemite Valley, a glacier-carved canyon which contains a couple of very famous formations (El Capitan and Half Dome) along with several beautiful waterfalls. It is with Ansel Adam's work in mind that I present this weeks photo, a b&w photo of Half Dome just past Columbia Rock taken in late May 2004 when we were hiking the Yosemite Falls trail which goes up to the top of, well, Yosemite Falls. (; Starting on the valley floor, this trail switchbacks it way up to Columbia Rock and then continues it climb to the top of the falls ending at close to 2500ft above the starting point. We didn't trek the entire length, only to just about the halfway point where there is a great view of the upper falls, but even to there, one is treated to wonderful views of the valley, especially at Columbia Rock which provides great views of the eastern potion of the valley and Half Dome. I do want say that I'd never consider to have the expertise to convey the true beauty of this park, the most I ever seek with my photos is to give a brief glimpse of the wonders one can see and hope to spark a desire to expand upon this in person. Without any doubt, Yosemite is a fantastic experience, one which could easily consume days, weeks or even a lifetime to try and sample all the possibilities. Personally, we had 3 days in May 2004, I got to spend 4 days there in September of this year and at least 4 more are planned for August 2006. Take it from someone who drives over 2000 miles, one-way, everytime he visits this park, really, this one is worth it!