Anza Views

November 6, 2010. Like every morning, I walked outside to look at the dark sky and decide where to go hiking. The direction I would take depended on the cloud formations. If it didn’t look particularly good for photographs – no clouds, or one big uniform misty dome – I’d head for Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Preserve on the eastern rim of the valley. If the clouds looked likely to produce a photography-friendly sunrise, I’d head for Anza Narrows or Hidden Valley, since both parks have good long views of the valley and the mountains in and around it. The clouds looked promising, so I loaded the saddlebags and rode up to Anza Narrows. I thought for a passing moment about taking the Subaru, then remembered the gate at the park: If it was closed I could only get in with the Road Star, since I could ride in on the sidewalk, bypassing the automobile entrance. When I arrived at the entrance the automobile gates were unlocked. The County apparently doesn’t have enough workers to lock everything up every night. That’s a recent development, brought on by years of government mismanagement at both state and local levels.

Photo above. From left; Mt. San Gorgonio in the San Bernardino Mountains, Box Springs mountain, Mt. San Jacinto in the San Jacinto Mountains. Statistics: ½ second, f/11, ISO 100, -0.3 EV, 28mm (35mm equivalent).

Photo above. Left: Box Springs Mountain. Center, far distance: Mt. San Jacinto. Statistics:1/4 second, f/22, ISO 100, 67mm (equiv.).

Photo above. Mt. San Jacinto. Statistics: 1/13 second, f/11,ISO 100, +0.3 EV,157mm (equiv.)