Views

The weather has been amazingly clear here, but of course we need rain.  Lake Silverwood is in the upper right of this photo and Lake Gregory is on the left.

There are tiny patches of snow left here and there in the colder, shadier spots.

The crystal clear air makes for great views, though.  One can see for a hundred miles into the distance.  (Sorry about the light streak in this photo, it was an errant sun ray).

That’s Mt. San Gorgonio on the left capped with snow in San Bernardino County and in the far distance is Mt. San Jacinto way over by Palm Springs in Riverside County.

Sunday Sunlight and Colors

Up at the higher elevation of Big Bear, Autumn's colors have nearly finished putting on their show.  But, 2000 feet lower down the mountain in Crestline she's still going strong!  I feel blessed to be able to have an extended autumn just by doing a little driving.  Down in the San Bernardino valley where my sister lives, autumn doesn't really arrive until the end of November but, since it doesn't really get that cold there, it's a very subtle, typical Southern California kind of autumn...hardly noticeable! 

The San Bernardino Mountains

(Left click to enlarge photos).  My sister sent me this picture of the San Bernardino Mountains, which are the mountains where I live.  I rarely see them when they look like this because I'm waaay up there in the snow!  The snow level in this photo is down around the 2,500 foot level in the foothills.  This range has eleven peaks that exceed 10,000 (3,048 meters) feet in height, the tallest being Mt. San Gorgonio at 11, 489 feet (3,502 meters), the highest peak in Southern California.  You can't see Mt. San Gorgonio in this photo; it's further over on the right.  

This mountain range is unusual in that it is a Transverse Range, meaning it runs west to east instead of north to south like most mountain ranges.  They were formed millions of years ago by tectonic activity along the San Andreas Fault and are still actively rising!  It makes a turn to the south right before Mt. San Gorgonio.

This is Mt. San Gorgonio (1) taken from about the 5,000 foot elevation out on Highway 18, the road that goes along the outer edge, literally, of the range.  It's also called 'Rim of the World Highway.'  In some places, the drop down to the San Bernardino Valley floor is a sheer fall of thousands of feet.  Off to the right is Mt. San Jacinto (2).  The town of Palm Springs, moderately famous for movie stars and Spring Break, is in the desert on the east side of Mt. San Jacinto.  Both peaks have snow on their tops year round.   

Okay, done indulging my inner nerd now...if you made it this far, thanks!