I always find a strange beauty in the enormous granite outcroppings arising out of the earth around the area of Folsom Lake. According to one source (PDF link), the Folsom granite is about 128 million years old; I grew up seeing large granite rocks like these all over the Sierra foothills, so they are both familiar and mysterious to me. They come in many shapes and sizes — some are so flat you walk over them on the trail without realizing; some stand very tall, like bizarre statues, and others are huge domes, perfect for climbing up on to stand and take in magnificent views of the landscape.

I call this one “The Knitter”