Slender Wonder Booklet Pdf

[Aliza Pointon]

Welcometo the audio-described version of Yosemite's official print brochure. Through text and audio descriptions of photos, illustrations and maps, this version interprets the two-sided color brochure that Yosemite visitors receive. The brochure explores the history of the park, includes some of its highlights, and provides information for planning your visit. This audio version lasts about one hour and 45 minutes, covering both sides of the original brochure, with each side broken down into smaller sections for your listening enjoyment and time availability.

Information included from the front of the brochure covers four key highlights of the park including the High Sierra, granite cliffs, sequoia groves and Yosemite Valley. Each section includes vivid color photographs and relevant details about the park's geologic features, historic characters and flora and fauna.

Information from the back of the brochure consists of an illustrated map of the entire park which includes roads, amenities, peaks, lakes, rivers, and trails, as well as a detail of Yosemite Valley and a map of the surrounding area. The maps include insets with pertinent safety, wildlife and other information.

The front of the brochure includes quotes, color and historic photographs and text blocks. The top of the page displays a large photo of a sweeping view of Half Dome and Tenaya Canyon overlayed with a brief overview and quote. Below, the page is divided into four horizontal sections which cover key highlights of Yosemite: the High Sierra, granite cliffs, sequoia groves and Yosemite Valley. Each section has a text overview of the topic paired with a large circular photo displaying the area or aspect. Beside these features is a collection of photos and text blocks that illustrate the text.

Yosemite National Park, located in California, is part of the National Park Service, within the Department of the Interior. The park is about 750,000 acres and is situated about 60 miles north of Fresno and about 170 miles east of San Francisco in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. About 95 percent of the park is designated wilderness. The park protects a broad range of life zones of the Sierra Nevada from the Lower Montane Forest up to the Alpine Zone.

Yosemite, established in 1864 as a state park, was the first state park in California. Yosemite's protection predates the first national park by 18 years. By 1890, Yosemite was designated as the third national park in the nation.

Each year, over five million visitors come to enjoy the unique experiences that can only be had at Yosemite. We invite you to explore the park's giant sequoias, stunning valleys, granite peaks and domes, high meadows and lakes and spectacular mountain views. Feel the spongy bark of the most massive trees in the world, the giant sequoias. Take a hike and smell the sweet scent of the pines. Listen to the drumming of the woodpeckers drilling holes in the oak trees. Feel the chilly mist of North America's tallest waterfall land on your upturned face.

For those seeking to learn more about the park during their visit, try the audio- described tour of the visitor center exhibit hall or explore the tactile map of Yosemite Valley, both available from the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center. To find out more about what resources might be available or to contact the park directly, visit the "Accessibility" and "More Information" sections at the end of this audio-described brochure.

A panoramic color photograph by Stan Jorstad, captioned, "Half Dome Yosemite Valley," was taken from a high vantage point and shows the grand expanse of the mountainous Yosemite high country. The silhouette of a towering Jeffrey pine stands arrow-straight in the foreground, bisecting the frame. To the right of the tree, despite a darkened sky, the flat-faced, round-backed Half Dome is bathed in light. Dark, lichen-covered streaks cascade down the face of the rock. The bare, granitic dome stands prominently over the landscape, seeming to peer down at the shadowed depths of Tenaya Canyon below and the miles of exposed granite domes and peaks rising above their tree-covered slopes.

Smooth granite domes, craggy peaks, and spacious meadows embody the character of the High Sierra. Hundreds of miles of hiking trails offer adventure, solitude, and inspiration for those wishing to explore this glacially carved landscape and experience ever-changing mountain ecosystems.

A large, round, colored photo by Bob Roney captioned, "High Sierra," shows classic scenery distinctive of the high sierra in Lyell Canyon. In the foreground, the yellow-green grass of an open meadow is dotted with random, round, green shrubs. The perimeter of the meadow is lined with a forest of pine trees that extend up rocky terrain. A river winds its way through the meadow towards its water source, the high rising snow-ladened mountains located in the distance. Puffy clouds darken the blue, mid-day sky above the mountain peaks, indicating approaching afternoon thunderstorms.

The foreground is of this picture captioned, "Olmsted Point, glacial erratic boulder" and credited to FRANK BALTHIS, is dominated by two glacial erratics - rocks carried in and left over from the passing of a glacier. The erratics are rough, white boulders freckled with black lichen, a moss-like growth on the rock. They lie upon a bare, granite dome marked only by a solitary western juniper tree. The tree grows straight out of the rock, its reddish bark and green needles stark against the clear and distant mountainous landscape. There is a solitary wisp of cloud above the tree. The early afternoon light casts dark shadows to the right of the erratics and tree, indicating a lowering sun out of frame on the left.

The color photo captioned, "Lembert Dome, roche moutonne" and credited to LAURENCE PARENT is of Lembert Dome, a distinct rock formation that fills almost half of the photo. It slopes up gently then steeply drops from right to left, showing the path the glaciers took. Nearly totally smooth and exposed, two little patches of trees stand out near the top. The rock is a variation of light and dark grey hues that rises above the jagged treeline. The river in the foreground shows a reflection of those trees. The muted yellow grasses on the bank of the river at the lower right are a balanced contrast to the wispy clouds with bits of blue sky peeking through in the upper left of the frame.

On the right, the father stands in a confident easy pose with his weight on his left leg and his right hand rising to grasp the saddle horn of his horse. He wears a pale felt hat with a wide brim and decorative hatband that shades his eyes. He has a loose white, long-sleeved shirt and long pants.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

The cut-out of the dramatic pink and yellow colors of a single alpine columbine (Aquilegia pubescen X formosa) pops in contrast against a completely black background. The photo by Adam R. Paul is captioned, "Alpine Columbine (hybrid)." The unusual and ornate five petaled flower hangs upside down on its stalk. An inner ring of creamy petals and yellow center are surrounded by an outer ring of sepals, or modified leaves, which look like long pink petals curving back elegantly. The cream colored petals fade to pink and extend past the sepals, turning into needle-like spurs which project proudly above the flower.

Captioned "granite cliffs," the photo is credited to Laurence Parent. Looking up through the silhouettes of the pines, one can spot the bright white rush of Bridalveil Fall pouring over the soaring Yosemite Valley cliffs. The water cascades over a glacially carved, U-shaped trough at the cliff top. The prominent rock formation, Leaning Tower, leans away and juts outward over the cliffline to the right of the waterfall, tempting visiting rock climbers. The rocks' varied minerals make a colorful patchwork of grays, oranges, creams and browns along the cliff face.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

A single bird (Cypseloides niger) is captioned "black swift" and credited to Bill Schmoker. It soars with its wings, about 18 inches wide, fully spread. The view of the dark bird, its body about 7 inches long, is from below. The image shows off its wing span and black feathers that transition to a light grey color along its neck and head.

The cutout photo, credited to K.K Hui and captioned "Peregrine falcon" shows an clear view of a peregrine falcon, (Falco peregrinus) soaring in flight, wings stretched out wide and lifted slightly above its body. Its wingspan is somewhere between 2.5 and 4 feet. The detail of the gray-brown tops of its wings and finely barred black and white underwings are clear. The falcon's black-tipped yellow beak is slightly open and its steel-gray head and "sideburns" contrast starkly against its white neck and "cheeks". Its body is covered in vertical black and white barring and its orange colored legs and feet are curled back for aerodynamics.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

A small black and white, circular photo from 1961 is captioned "On the Salathe Wall of El Capitan" and credited to Tom Frost Collection, Courtesy, Yosemite Climbing Association. It features a young adult, male climber, Tom Frost. He is wearing a white shirt with sleeves rolled up to his biceps and hanging by a climbing rope on a rock wall. His climbing harness and the taut rope attached to it allow him to rest in a semi seated pose. His left hand rests casually on the cluttered climbing rack of gear that dangle from his waist while his right hand steadies himself on the rock. His broad muscular upper body is turned halfway back, toward the viewer. He is gazing back over his left shoulder, with a grin, as he gets a unique view of the vast landscape around and below him. His right knee is bent, pants rolled up below the knee and his ankle comfortably hanging in a loop of climbing gear. The flexed muscles are well defined on his left leg which is also bent. He appears to be bracing his foot on the rock, just out of the frame. He wears tan shoes which pre-date the sticky rubber-covered climbing shoes of today. Incongruously, the shoes look like he might be wearing them along a city street. The forested mountains, far below in the background, are topped with puffy clouds just over the ridge line. The distant peaks and canyons make the tremendous height of the climber unmistakable.

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