Waterfalls

Recent storms dropped 2 inches of rain on Yosemite National Park , bringing snow to elevations above 8,000 feet and reviving one of the park's best-loved features: its waterfalls. Yosemite and Bridal Veil falls , which thunder in spring when swelled with runoff from winter snow pack, dried up in mid-October. It has been one of the driest years on record for Yosemite and the driest winter since 2007, according to a news release. "After such a dry period, seeing the waterfalls flowing again is spectacular," Park Superintendent Don Neubacher said in a statement.

The goal of this Zen-inspired Modernist house in the Hollywood Hills was to create a tranquil and healthful-living environment filled with natural light. Recycled, biodegradable and organic materials take center stage in the gated, energy-efficient home. Location: 3110 Deronda Drive, Los Angeles 90068 Asking price: $2.395 million Year built: 2004 Architect: James Chuda House size: Four bedrooms, four bathrooms, 4,200 square feet Lot size: 7,927 square feet Features: Entry water garden with waterfall; media room; den; two fireplaces; glass staircase; loft; patios; bamboo and papyrus walls; bamboo, cork and palm wood floors; solar power; water-saving toilets; vegetable gardens About the area: Last year, 321 single-family homes sold in the 90068 ZIP Code at a median price of $890,000, according to DataQuick.

Too bad Thaddeus Lowe is not around to cast a little light on Rubio Canyon's problems. After all, his 6-million-candlepower searchlight was believed to be one of the world's brightest a century ago when it was perched on a mountaintop above the rugged Altadena gorge. The scenic canyon with seven waterfalls bearing names like Roaring Rift and Grand Chasm was a focal point of hotels, restaurants and a 3 1/2-mile narrow-gauge railroad to Mt.

SAN FRANCISCO - Even in the annals of over-the-top celebrity weddings, Sean Parker's planned nuptials may take the cake. The Facebook Inc. billionaire who also co-founded Napster is dropping nearly $10 million on a fairy-tale wedding in Big Sur that includes a whimsical fantasy world featuring faux ruins, waterfalls, bridges and a gated cottage, a person familiar with the plans said. Just the stone dance floor in the woods surrounding the Ventana Inn & Spa will set the 34-year-old back $350,000, according to the website TMZ. The plants and flowers will cost $1 million.

Four giant waterfalls will be erected in New York for three months this summer in a public art project city officials hope will create $55 million in tourism revenue. The waterfalls, including one that will fall from the Brooklyn Bridge, are the brainchild of Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. Installation will cost $15 million, funded by private donations to New York's Public Art Fund. "It's about seeing water in a different way," Eliasson told a news conference Wednesday.

The roaring waterfalls of Rubio Canyon were one of Los Angeles' top tourist attractions 100 years ago. Carved into cliffs a mile above Altadena and fed by a crystal-clear, year-round stream, they were a must-see for sightseers traveling to nearby Mt. Lowe on an unusual mountain trolley that operated until 1936. The falls remained a popular hiking destination until a year ago--when they suddenly disappeared.

A newly cleared trail is bringing the first visitors to a 300-foot waterfall in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. The falls are tucked away in a remote corner of a 43,000-acre parcel of wild land administered by the National Park Service. Russ Weatherbee, a wildlife biologist for the park service, said he had heard for years about a large waterfall on one of the forks of Crystal Creek, a stream that drains the western quadrant of the recreation area.

The waterfalls in Falls and Holy Jim canyons are only a stone's throw from the tony condominiums and cookie-cutter homes in the planned communities of Rancho Santa Margarita. But follow the rutted dirt road along Trabuco Creek and the distance can easily be measured in years, not miles. Towering sycamores and majestic, century-old oaks stand amid clumps of fragrant sage and manzanita.

It is not the type of public works project that is going to solve the problems of inner-city Los Angeles. But the hot pink contraption in Curtis Gray's front yard may not be a pile of junk either. A plumber by trade, Gray turned a bathtub, two laundry basins, a sink and some old pipes into what he calls a "wishing well for peace," a whimsical creation with running water that is drawing interest in a riot-torn South Los Angeles neighborhood.

My pharmacy's in for a windfall as I stumble behind Chris Shaffer through an assault of downed trees and brambles off-trail in a remote canyon outside Ojai. Since I met this two-legged wildebeest, I've been stabbed by yucca, slapped senseless by boomeranging branches, upended on slippery scree and fallen into freezing rivers that have turned my boots into water buckets. We're on a slope mined with poison oak and needle-edged shrubs, each more ingenious at sticking you than the last.

The loft-like entry to this hillside contemporary overlooks an interior waterfall. A catwalk hallway and a spiral staircase lend an industrial vibe to the Hollywood Hills West house. Location: 7270 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles 90068 Asking price: $1.85 million Year built: 2003 House size: Four bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, 4,600 square feet Lot size: 20,000 square feet Features: City and canyon views, spiral and main staircases, kitchen island, step-down dining room, two fireplaces, media room with wet bar, deck, garden/yard, two-car garage.

Actress-singer Shirley Jones of "The Partridge Family" and her husband, comedian Marty Ingels, have listed their Encino home for sale at $2.1 million. Described as ranch-style in the listing, the 5,400-square-foot house sits on nearly three-quarters of an acre with waterfalls, a swimming pool and gardens. Built in 1957, the home features two family rooms, an office, a game room, four bedrooms and six bathrooms. There are family room and master bedroom fireplaces. Jones, 78, made her name in musical films including "Oklahoma!"

Recent storms dropped 2 inches of rain on Yosemite National Park , bringing snow to elevations above 8,000 feet and reviving one of the park's best-loved features: its waterfalls. Yosemite and Bridal Veil falls , which thunder in spring when swelled with runoff from winter snow pack, dried up in mid-October. It has been one of the driest years on record for Yosemite and the driest winter since 2007, according to a news release. "After such a dry period, seeing the waterfalls flowing again is spectacular," Park Superintendent Don Neubacher said in a statement.

Actress Sharon Stone has sold a compound in the Beverly Crest area for $6.575 million. Surrounded by walls and gated, the Mediterranean-style estate sits on five acres with pathways, bridges, waterfalls, fruit trees, a meditation garden, a swimming pool and a tennis court with viewing pavilion. The main house, built in 1991, includes a paneled library, a wet bar in the living room and a master suite with dual bathrooms, dual dressing rooms and a terrace. The guest house contains a media room, a gym and two bedrooms, for a total of seven bedrooms, 8.5 bathrooms and four fireplaces.

The former live-work compound of artist Sam Francis is on the market in Santa Monica at $18.75 million. The reinvented property features two houses, waterfalls, a bridge, glass walkways over stream beds and Japanese gardens on nearly half an acre. There are eight bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a bar, a media room, an office, a wine cellar and a sauna in an 8,000-square-foot main house and a 4,400-square-foot secondary home. Francis, who died in 1994 at 71, was a painter, muralist and printmaker whose works were influenced by Abstract Expressionists and, later, Zen Buddhism.

The price of the party palace that rapper Drake bought in Hidden Hills last month has yet to make its way into the public record. Listed at $16.9 million in 2009, it was most recently set at $8.65 million. Outside of its new owner, perhaps the striking feature of the nearly 3-acre property is the grotto-style swimming pool with back-lighted waterfalls and an 80-foot slide. Other outdoor amenities include a tennis court, stalls for five horses, a riding arena, a mechanic bull and a viewing pavilion.

Why do waterfalls intrigue us? Perhaps it's the sensory stimulation we get when we're near them--the soft spray on our faces, the roar of the cascades, sunlight sparkling off the water. Whatever the reason, a before- or after-holiday jaunt into nature to see them is in order. Waterfall admirers can be grateful to Ann Marie Brown, whose guidebook "California Waterfalls" (1997 Foghorn Press, $17.95) details how to drive, bike and hike to 200 of the state's waterfalls.

An asking price of $78.8 million will make a splash in any neighborhood. And the fact that this one includes a temperature-controlled trout pond with a two-story waterfall doesn't hurt. Donald Abbey , the founder of a commercial real estate investment and management firm bearing his name, has listed a recently completed estate in Bradbury, in the San Gabriel Valley. More than nine years in the making, the Palladian-style compound occupies an 8-acre promontory with city and ocean views.

Broadway composer and lyricist Jerry Herman has listed his Palm Springs retreat for sale at $1.285 million. Called Villacage, the custom estate occupies a half-acre site in the gated Bellamonte Estates community. The Mediterranean-style house includes five bedroom and six bathrooms in its 5,546 square feet. Water features include a 61-foot-long lap pool, an in-ground spa and waterfalls. Herman, 80, won Tony Awards for best composer and lyricist for "Hello, Dolly!" in 1964 and for original score for "La Cage aux Folles" in 1984.