Oh man I'm so envious right now! That trip is one of my '
bucket list' items. Glad you got to go and have what looks like such a good time.
That shrub looks like some kind of manzanita (Arctostaphylos nevadensis would be my guess). We've got it all over in the higher elevations. And that parasite is dwarf mistletoe (Phoradendron juniperinum).
"Instead of Pay It Forward I prefer Plant It Forward" ~Howard Story / "God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools." ~John Muir
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