Joshua Tree

Because my daughter Megan (see the blog of mab) would be in Riverside for her 10th High School Reunion, and had Saturday morning and afternoon free, we planned on loading the saddlebags with our cameras and heading for Route 2, the Angelus Crest Highway, which opened up a week previously after four years of closure, making it possible to ride from Wrightwood to La Canada through the Angelus Mountains. The weather didn't cooperate with our plan for the mountain ride, however. It would be overcast and somewhat cool according to the forecast, and would probably rain in that area.

The weather in the Joshua Tree area looked much better. The day's temperature would peak at 85 Farenheit and the sky would be clear east of the San Gorgonio Pass. In addition, the ever-present winds in the pass would not rise above 12 miles per hour during the day. We quickly changed our route plan and rode toward the desert.

As usual for this time of year (last weekend of May) there was a "marine layer" shrouding the Inland Empire in the morning, a cloud laying on the land that creates an overcast sky, which typically burns off in the afternoon. We rode out of the overcast by the time we were in the San Gorgonio Pass and the sky became progressively clearer as we approached Joshua Tree, the town north of the National Monument.

The photographs in this post were all made with a Nikon D200 and within the borders of the Joshua Tree National Monument. I chose them from aproximately 160 that I made that day. I believe they give a feel for the terrain and features of the area. Click on any photograph to view a larger version.

A dead Joshua tree.

Close view of a Cholla cactus.

Mount Rubidoux Gallery

This gallery contains photographs I made from and of Mount Rubidoux, in Riverside California. With one exception they were all made before or around sunrise with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX01. The first photograph was made at sundown with a Nikon D200. Click on a photograph to view a larger version.

Other photos that I made of Mount Rubidoux are in a short slide show on the Friends of Mount Rubidoux web site at http://www.mt-rubidoux.org/. Those photos, because they were made largely during full daylight are more suited to the Friends' purposes.

Caribbean Sunrise Sequence

These photographs were made on the morning of April 9, 2009 east of the Turks and Caicos Islands. I handheld the Nikon D200 on deck six of the Carnival Destiny. I made approximately 120 photos of the sunrise that morning, but these seven show the sequence (and keep this post down to a reasonable size). Click on a photo to see a larger image.

Crossings Forward

Crossings was written in late 2006 and early 2007. Minor editing and rewriting was done in 2009 to prepare it for web publication.

It has been withdrawn from this site by the author after an 18-month run.

Crossings is Copyright 2006, 2007, 2009 by Raymond R. Alexander

Seascapes

This gallery contains photographs made on or near the Caribbean Sea, the Pacific Ocean or the Atlantic Ocean. Click on a photograph to see it in a larger size.


Big Sur, Pacific Coast.


Miami, Florida


Big Sur, Pacific Coast


Atlantic Ocean


Big Sur, Pacific Coast


Half Moon Cay, Bahamas


Big Sur, Pacific Coast


Half Moon Cay, Bahamas