By Nathan Allen

“Leaf Peeping” on The Drive Into The Park

You don’t even have to get out of the car for this dazzling display! Still, you might want to.

I hiked down the small canyon to find a small creek that was literally covered in brilliant reds, greens & yellows. Also came across a deer with a fawn! No good picture, sadly.

Merced River Scenes (Rapids Near The Junction)

The eye popping yellows of the Bigleaf Maple trees are on full display along the riverbank here.

I climbed some rocks and boulders to take close up pictures. I’ve been living in the tropics for the last few years, so this cool change of pace is much appreciated!

Autumn Waterfall (Long Exposure)

Over the course of 3 days in this area, there was hardly ever a breeze. This makes it great for still long exposure shots along the river. Anytime after 1pm is good, though lighting is even better after 3.

Calm Merced River Landscapes (Yosemite Valley)

This is a beautiful area to park the car and take a quick afternoon hike along the riverbank. As the sun gets lower and lower, the golden light filters through the yellow maple trees – casting serene reflections on the natural pools.

You’ll need to pull over on the left side of the road soon after leaving El Capitan Meadow. If you reach iconic “Valley View”, you’ve gone too far.

Pohono Bridge Area

Sometimes you’ll find this iconic location empty, and you get it all to yourself. However, as soon as somebody sees you parked there, they will follow in your footsteps.

Better enjoy that solitude while you can!

Hiking Near Pohono Bridge

There is a scenic trail that takes you right along the river. Super easy hike, and plenty of great photo opportunities with many mossy rocks and leaves on the ground. Don’t miss it!

El Capitan Meadow

The stately trees along the road have turned a dark reddish brown, and they tower over the grazing deer below. Here I tried to capture the scale of Yosemite Valley, it’s truly breathtaking…

(Continued below, but I do hope you’ll follow along with me)

When (& Where) to Find The Best Yosemite Fall Colors

The 3rd or 4th week of October really is the best time to visit. Not only can you find stunning autumn scenes all around you, but there’s also a healthy LACK of tourists (& mosquitoes)!

The only thing missing during this time of the year is the strong flow of valley waterfalls. Well, they say you can’t have everything.

List of locations:

• Crane Creek – A few miles after Crane Flat on Highway 120 (coming INTO the park). The road passes right through some beautiful fall colors.
• Merced River @ Junction (Big Oak Flat Rd & El Portal Rd) – Again, you can see the bright yellows from the Bigleaf Maple Trees directly from the road. Some river rock hopping may be required to get some nice long exposure or waterfall shots. I have seen multiple bears in this area, so keep an eye out! (Don’t worry if you see one, just consider yourself lucky)
• Pohono Bridge – This is quite the scenic spot for photos! The bridge is located right where El Portal Road splits to start the Yosemite Valley Loop. If you want to take long exposure photos, I recommend waiting until late afternoon for best lighting. At least 4pm.
• Swinging Bridge – Even though I didn’t post any photos from here, you can take some nice reflection shots in the still water of the Merced river. You just need to “follow your eye” and hike along the river a bit to find the perfect location.
• El Capitan Meadow – You won’t find the most striking colors here. However, the large trees, families of deer, and breathtaking valley backdrop make a visit well worth it. Late afternoon lighting is most dramatic, and chances of deer sightings are better then, too.
• Tioga Pass Aspens – I did not make it up to the Yosemite high country this autumn, but I hear there are some nice aspen trees along the drive. Note, due to the higher elevation, these yellow colors tend to peak weeks earlier than down in Yosemite Valley. I suspect you would want to visit Tioga Pass around the first week of October for best fall colors.

Yosemite Valley (& Nearby) Hotels

Weather was perfect when I was there, about 70 degrees (f) during the day, though down to 44 at night. You can try your luck with a walk in campsite, though they tend to fill up pretty quickly.

Those looking for a bit more comfort can check out hotel options with Booking.com HERE, or Agoda HERE.

In closing, I hope you enjoyed my Yosemite Fall Colors series. Stay tuned for more Yosemite landscapes…hint…WINTER’S COMING!

(By the way, contact me if you’d like a framed print for the California / Yosemite lovers in your life…)

Cheers,

– Nathan Allen

www.idreamedofthis.com

Thanks for reading, and feel free to share.

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The post Yosemite Fall Colors: California’s Autumn in Full Effect (PHOTOS) appeared first on I Dreamed Of This.

By Nathan Allen

(Update January 2021 – I have since outgrown Jimdo. I moved on to another service that allows more customization at a lower price. Still, Jimdo is great for those who don’t have a lot of technical skill but want top notch design and customer service. In these areas, you do get what you pay for.)

Wow. 5 years. 1,825 days. Hard to believe, but “I Dreamed Of This”  is now half a DECADE old! I never imagined that this website I started in Manila back in 2013 would ultimately reach millions – and change my whole life in the process. I cannot thank you all enough! I just realized I never wrote about how I made my site. I built it with Jimdo…and never regretted it.

I’ve had 5 years of top notch, uninterrupted service with this company, and I also wanted to find a way to say thanks to them. SO I’ll test some of their newest blog & website building tools, and share my experience with you.

In 2013, Jimdo Made Building Websites Simple – Now, Dolphin AI Makes it Effortless

If you’ve always wanted to create a blog or website, but felt intimidated by the technical side of things, you are going to love this…

Jimdo Dolphin uses the latest cutting edge sitebuilder technology. Debuting last year, incredibly, it uses AI to gather information from your social media sites. It can produce a beautiful polished website for you in just minutes. three, to be exact!

All you need to do is answer a few simple questions about what kind of site you would like.

Are you a photographer, artist, or entrepreneur? They’ve got you covered. This kind of technology is also great for people who are tech savvy, but just don’t have much time.

Personalized Content & Design, in Seconds

The sitebuilder will ask for your Instagram login so that it can choose the best photos for your website. Poof, there they are. You can check out preview mode, and see the classy way the photos fade in as you scroll down your page.

Next, you choose the look and feel of your new site. Being a rather simple person myself, I chose the “minimal” design option.

I was also impressed by Dolphin’s innovative heading and paragraph font combinations. These elegant pairings are created by designers who clearly have a great eye. This can save you a lot of time. 

Not Just a Page Builder, It Creates Your Entire Site

Everything is ready to go for you, the menu, contact page…all of it. Another thing I love is that it takes the category you chose (photographer, artist…etc) and populates the text fields with template information relevant to your choice.

In other words, you’ll see a well written, complete artist or photographer’s website as a default (though your photos will show at this point).

 Below is an example:

Obviously you’ll want to replace the text with your own information, but I find that the “guide” does a great job providing inspiration for you, and again, can save a lot of time. (Personally, I work better creating something from a starting point than I do completely from scratch.)

Free Version + Paid Plan Options

The three choices Jimdo Dolphin offers are “Play” (free) “Start” ($9/Mo) and “Grow” ($19/Mo). The paid versions offer unlimited bandwidth and visitor data. The premium plan offers the most menu subpages, as well as some design consultation and the fastest support time.

(continued below)

Custom URL

A “URL” (or domain) is the www. address people type to get to your website. Jimdo Dolphin gives you the option to buy a custom (and more professional) domain name when you sign up.  For example, if I used the free version, my website URL would be:

www.idreamedofthis.jimdo.com

Instead, I paid for a more professional custom domain:

www.idreamedofthis.com

If you are taking your website very seriously, or are starting a business, I certainly recommend buying the custom domain name. No matter the product or service, it makes you look much more professional. FYI: I believe the custom domain name is free for your first paid year!

SEO & Ads

Another thing to note is that the free version does not include the ability to optimize for search results (SEO). The paid versions help users find your website through Google, for example.

The free version also includes a small ad for Jimdo at the bottom of the page. Again, if your project is not just for fun, you will want to look into the more professional paid options.

Jimdo Dolphin VS. Jimdo Creator

Keep in mind that if you have a bit more time / abilities, Jimdo Creator can offer you more flexibility. It’s still incredibly user friendly, and is what I used, long before Dolphin came out. They have similar free / paid options for Jimdo Creator as well.

Overall, using Jimdo is like using a Mac. It’s a sleek, stylish, and reliable creative tool that is both efficient and intuitive.

There’s really never been a better time to take your passions online and share them with the world!

Full disclosure, I love this company so much that I eventually partnered with them. I’ve actually been very selective with my few partnerships. When I received a hand written Christmas card from Jimdo (before my blog ever took off), I knew they were something special. Well, I guess the years of stellar customer support didn’t hurt, either.

No need to take my word for it, though. Give Jimdo a free test run and see how it feels!

You can check it out HERE.

Happy creating.

– Nathan Allen

www.idreamedofthis.com

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The post A Look at 5 Years Using Jimdo, and a Dolphin Sitebuilder Test Run appeared first on I Dreamed Of This.