granite

Every time Karen Betlejewski visits the Smith River Community Pioneer Cemetery, she places silk flowers beside a simple granite headstone in the northeast corner.

Outside, a decomposed granite and gravel path and native, fire-resilient plantings create a secure edge, while covered outdoor rooms blur the line between exterior and interior.

This tucked-away cove is one of the most iconic areas of the lake, known for its turquoise waters, steep granite cliffs and dense pine forests.

But these planks of granite lined Pottinger in the 1850s and tilted and dented with time.

In February, a group of Yosemite National Park staffers hung a giant, upside-down American flag — a symbol of distress — from the side of El Capitan, a 3,000-foot granite monolith, to protest the cuts.