"Xmas on the Merced"The Nature Conservancy 2016 “Best of Nature” Grand Prize Winner

This past Xmas, I did things a little different. I loaded up the car and headed for the mountains. The lodges were all full as this was kind of a last minute thing, so I rented a tent in Curry Village. Xmas Eve it snowed.. hard. As I sat in my tent that night doing everything possible to stay warm, I seriously began to question what in the world I was doing in a tent, alone, on Christmas Eve.  The next morning I got up early and headed for a sunrise spot along the Merced. The skies had cleared and fresh snow blanketed the valley. On this Christmas morning, I captured what is now my favorite image.  A very special Xmas gift from Mother Nature to me :)