Last weekend was John Muir's birthday and Earth Day. Despite the the rain and possible snow in the forecast, I wanted to be in Yosemite to celebrate both occasions, so I booked a spot at Curry Village on Friday and we were on the road to the park early on Saturday.

In all honesty, even if it were just another weekend, I still would've made the reservations because I had been itching to get outside and play for weeks. Plus, it had been nearly three months since we had last set foot in Yosemite and I had been wanting to return. The weather on Saturday was perfect...

We got into the park just after eleven and headed straight for the Earth Day celebrations happening in Yosemite Village. We first stopped by the Earth Friendly Product Fair.

Vendors were giving away all types of goodies and offering free samples. I tried some organic chocolate, organic juice, organic beer, organic milk, and organic tea. We'll skip the part where I went in search of an organic bathroom.

I perused the various products on display (recycled steel jewelry, organic t-shirts, eco-friendly cleaning products, etc.), but only grabbed one goodie: a paper bookmark made from recycled elephant poop. It's the sturdiest bookmark I've ever owned. Unfortunately, it doesn't smell anything like an elephant.

We continued on to the booths in front of the Visitor Center. Their focus was on the park's environmental efforts (like reducing the presence of non-native plants and operating low emission shuttles). There was also a Sustainable Salad Bar where we sampled more organic food...

Afterwards, we took a quick tour of the recently renovated Visitor Center. Besides being nice, clean, new, and educational, the retrofitted displays were also interactive...

Okay, they might have been hoping for more mature interactions, but I couldn't resist. Anyway, we left the Visitor Center and took a short stroll over to Yosemite Falls...

It was approaching 4:30 in the afternoon and I still wanted to get in a small hike, so I decided to venture up to Columbia Rock, which is a 3.5-mile round-trip trek. It's considered a strenuous hike because there is an elevation gain of about 1,000 feet.

On my way to the trail head at Camp 4, I passed a group of rock climbers. They were so busy climbing, I don't think any of them knew I took this photo...

The climb took longer than I expected, not due to exhaustion, but due to constantly stopping and stepping aside to let hikers coming down pass through. I tried to keep track of how many people were descending, but I lost count around fifty. Most smiled and said hello, but a handful simply gave me disapproving stares, as if to say, "You should know better than to be hiking in that direction so late in the day."

I wholeheartedly agreed with their glares, but pressed on. After thirty minutes of continuous climbing, these views were my reward for reaching Columbia Rock...

After a brief five minutes of enjoying the scenery and watching the sky begin to darken with rather ominous looking clouds, I headed down and reached Lower Yosemite Fall 25 minutes later. All told, it was a fun hour-long adventure.

Sunday came much too quickly. As expected, the perfect weather was replaced with rain and snow. Overnight, the landscape took on a distinctly wintery feel...

After a hearty brunch buffet at Curry Pavilion, it was time to say farewell to Yosemite...

On the way out, we made the usual stops to take photos, including the typical view of the valley...

While I was at Columbia Rock, I shot a panoramic video clip. For fun, I added some music to it ("Skullcrusher Mountain" by Jonathan Coulton) and embedded it here for your amusement...