Granite Cliff Studio

When we are feeling a little lazy and don’t want to hike around we still get in the car and usually do a lap around Northside Dr and Southside Dr. This way we can still try and see some wildlife and maybe something neat we haven’t seen before. Everyday in Yosemite we try to either walk or drive around for an hour. We almost didn’t go today. Fortunately, we changed our minds and we saw our first bear of 2024.

This amber black bear was right by the road. The bear was using his claws to rip through downed trees and tear off bark to find some insects. He was healthy and almost playful. He would run and jump on trees like the balance beam. Energetic and curious. We kept our distance but this beautiful bruin made eye contact a few times with us to make sure we were cool. He came up and crossed the road and we felt that was a good time to go our separate ways. Always very lucky and grateful for such an encounter.