Expecting deep trenches of snow, windblown flurries and icicles crashing down some of the world's longest waterfalls, in the midst of winter, I instead encountered a Yosemite National Park enjoying unseasonably mild - low to mid-40's F - temperatures under sunny daytime skies and bright full moonlit nights. Breathtaking to walk to work with Half Dome greeting me every morning, it was. A very, very, very, special place that the earth has given us in Mariposa county.